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Juvenile Programming
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Juvenile Expungement Program Whenever a juvenile is arrested, records are made and kept by Illinois courts and law enforcement agencies. You will have a juvenile record even if your case was dismissed, if you were acquitted, found “not delinquent,” “not guilty” or “innocent,” had your conviction reversed or were sentenced to supervision or probation. The state of Illinois has a process for making those records “off-limits” to most people. This process is called “expungement”. If you have your records expunged, in many cases, the records will be “off-limits” to employers and the rest of the general public and treated like they never existed. For example, when you fill out a job application, you do not have to tell a potential employer about the case you have had expunged. However, if you pursue certain types of careers (such as becoming an attorney) you will still have to disclose the existence of expunged records. Having a juvenile record can make it hard to get a job, a place to live, credit, licenses needed to do some types of jobs and student loans. Getting the record expunged may help remove these barriers.
The Juvenile Expungement Process
1. Get an arrest history report from any agency that arrested you, such as the police department, sheriff’s department or State Police.
2. Fill out court forms called a “Petition,” a “Notice” and an “Order” to ask that your records be expunged and file the petition with the Circuit Court in the County in which you were arrested. Get the petition by going to or calling the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office in the county where you were arrested. You can also get the forms free of charge by printing the ones listed on this website or by contacting the offices listed below.
Springfield Office: Or Contact Ogle County Juvenile Justice Council: Sherri Egan
3. Decide which category applies to your situation to determine which of the two petition forms to use . CATEGORY NO. 1: If you are at least 17 years old and you can answer “Yes” to ANY of the following questions:
Then you can have your juvenile record expunged. Use the “Category 1" Petition. Category 1 Petition Sample Category 1 Petition
CATEGORY NO. 2: For any juvenile incidents that do not fall into Category No. 1 above, you may still have your juvenile record expunged except those proceedings based upon (1) first degree murder or (2) sex offenses which would be felonies if committed by an adult, SO LONG AS you can answer “Yes” to ALL of the following questions:
If you answered “Yes” to ALL of these questions and your case was not based on first degree murder or a sex offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult, you can have your record expunged. Use the “Category 2" Petition. Category 2 Petition Sample Category 2 Petition
4. Fill out the following portions of the “Notice”: Your name, case number, the address of the arresting agency, the address of the State’s Attorney and your own address. LEAVE THE REST OF THE NOTICE BLANK.
5. Fill out the following portions of the “Order”: Your name, your date of birth (DOB), case number, the name of the arresting agency/agencies. LEAVE THE REST OF THE ORDER BLANK.
6. Bring your completed Petition, Notice and Order to the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office in the county where you were arrested. You will have to pay a fee to the Clerk of the Circuit Court when you file your petition. If you cannot afford the fee, then you must complete and file the fee waiver form with your petition. Be certain to ask the clerk when your case will get set for a hearing. Some jurisdictions will set your case for a hearing right away. Others will wait to see if any objection to your Petition is filed.
7. The Clerk’s office will send notice of your petition to the Illinois State Police, the Prosecutor assigned to your case and the agency that arrested you. They have up to 90 days to object to your petition. After you file your petition, you need to notify the Clerk any time you move or change your mailing address by filling out a change of address form. You can get a change of address form from the Clerk’s office.
8. After 90 days contact the Clerk’s office to determine the status of your petition. Unless the State’s Attorney or prosecutor, the Illinois State Police or the arresting agency objects to your petition within 90 days, the court may grant your petition and expunge your record.
9. If there is an objection to your petition, the Clerk will schedule a hearing. If the Clerk schedules a hearing for your expungement case, you are required to attend. If there is no objection, the court may or may not hold a hearing on your case. In either case, you need to wear business clothes to the hearing. Men should wear slacks, a tie and a jacket. Women should wear dress pants, a skirt or a dress.
10. If the court grants your expungement request, you must pay the Clerk a fee for the Court, local police, and Illinois State Police to expunge your records. If you cannot pay the fees, you must ask the Court to waive them.
11. The Clerk will forward a certified copy of the expungement order, along with the fees that you paid, to the Illinois State Police and to the arresting agency (such as the local police department). You should contact the Illinois State Police and the arresting agency to be sure that they have received the order and fees.
12. In several weeks, the Illinois State Police will send you and the Clerk a letter confirming your expungement.
13. When you know you are going to be on the job market, applying for school, or credit you might consider the following steps to reduce the chances that you will be "surprised" by information found in the background check process: How to Prepare for a Background Check
Reporting agencies often report felony convictions when the consumer truly believes the crime was reduced to a misdemeanor, or that it was reported as a misdemeanor conviction when the consumer thought the charge was reduced to an infraction. Court records are not always updated correctly. For example, a signature that was needed to reduce the charges might not have been obtained or recorded by the court. Don't rely on what your attorney may have told you. If you think the conviction was expunged or dismissed, get a certified copy of your report from the court. For an explanation of expungement, visit www.epic.org/privacy/expungement.
Many employers ask on their application if you were ever convicted of a crime. Or they might word the question to ask whether you have ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. Typically, the application says you do not have to divulge a case that was expunged or dismissed, or that was a minor traffic violation. Don't be confused. A DUI (driving under the influence) or DWI (driving while intoxicated) conviction is not considered a minor traffic infraction. Applicants with a DUI or DWI who have not checked "yes" on a job application may be denied employment for falsifying the form -- even when the incident occurred only once or happened many years before. The employer perceives this as dishonesty, even though the applicant might only have been confused by the question.
Notice of a background check has to be on a separate form. The only other information this form can include is your authorization and information that identifies you. Neither the notice of a background check nor any other form should ask questions like "race," "sex," "full date of birth," or "maiden name." Such questions violate the federal Equal Employment Opportunity laws. And, you should not be asked to sign any document that waives your right to sue a screening company or the employer for violations of the law.
For more information on Privacy Rights visit www.privacyrights.org
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