In Illinois, the process of expungement allows individuals who have been convicted of certain crimes — usually misdemeanors and low-level felonies, including traffic violations — to have their records wiped clean. What is the general idea behind this? To give individuals a chance to have a clean record for employment or educational purposes that require an individual have no felony or misdemeanor convictions in their history.
Unfortunately, expungements are rarely successfully recorded to the extent that most individuals — and this could include judges and attorneys — think them to be. That’s something I learned through personal experience.
Here’s how the expungement process works: The individual who meets the requirements for an expungement files paperwork with the circuit court where the arrest occurred. In Cook County, an individual can file an expungement independently, but it is a highly complicated process, so hiring an attorney is worth every single penny spent.
The completed paperwork must be filed before a judge, who may or may not grant the expungement. If it is approved, the paperwork must be filed with the local police department that made the arrest. Follow-up will need to be done to ensure that the arresting agency does its job by expunging the case reports, computer-aided dispatch system reports, fingerprints, mugshots, and other associated paperwork.
The local law enforcement department is responsible for contacting the FBI and asking them to expunge the criminal record from the National Criminal Incident database — which is not a requirement, but should be done.
Here’s what can happen: The records can be expunged locally. However, your fingerprints and name can still be in the Clarksburg, West Virginia national computer system. The FBI and other federal agencies do not like expunging records based on expungement orders from local police agencies and circuit court systems. Sometimes, the FBI will only partially honor these expungement requests.
Follow through with the FBI
I had personal experience with the process as police chief in Riverside. We trained and designated one individual to oversee expungements. We complied with all court orders and notified the FBI — but the FBI often did not expunge the charge.
I learned this first-hand when a local family visited me regarding one particular instance. The parents of a high school student whom we had arrested for misdemeanor battery on school grounds came to see me after the case was disposed of. The defendant was 18 and a high school senior, who had received a conditional discharge with some community service in his case. He was an extremely talented hockey player and had received a scholarship to an Ivy League school for hockey. But the school did a background check and found out about the arrest, even after the expungement was done with the help of an attorney.
Even though Riverside expunged the record, the FBI did not remove the case entirely from their system.
The family contacted me for assistance with the FBI. They asked me to write a letter explaining the circumstances to the school’s president, hoping their child would be accepted and be able to play hockey. I was glad to do so, as the misdemeanor was minor. I wrote a letter, on police department letterhead, on behalf of this student, explaining that he had never been in police trouble outside this incident and had an impressive background, including being a good student, as verified by school officials.
Several months later, the parents returned to visit me and said their child was accepted into the school based on my letter. I was thrilled that I could help. But not all individuals have someone who can go the extra mile to help them.
Even if an individual hires an attorney, there’s no guarantee that the FBI will cooperate and expunge the entire record.
So when you see advocates send judges to different counties to educate the public about the process for expungement orders, please pay attention. For the highest probability of success, I strongly encourage anyone filing for an expungement to hire an experienced attorney to assist them.
No minor criminal record should keep anyone from higher education or a decent job.
Tom Weitzel retired from the Riverside Police Department in May 2021 after 37 years in law enforcement, including 13 years as Riverside’s chief of police. Follow him on Twitter @chiefweitzel
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