Law Passed to Expunge Class 3 & 4 Felonies

Lee Edwards | As of Wednesday, September 11, 2013

(L-R):Ill. State LaShawn Ford, Randy Ryder, Ill. State Rep. Mary Flowers at the "A Second Chance Summit" speak to the audience.
(L-R):Ill. State LaShawn Ford, Randy Ryder, Ill. State Rep. Mary Flowers at the "A Second Chance Summit" speak to the audience.

Ill. State Rep. LaShawn Ford (Dist-8th) hosted the “A Second Chance Summit” this past Saturday at the UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Rd., to discuss House Bill 3016 which helps former convicts expunge or seal certain new Class 3 and Class 4 crimes from their arrest record.

The HB3061 contains the following language:

Allows a person to petition the court and the court to order the sealing of: (1) Class 2 felony conviction records for burglary, delivery of a controlled substance, and possession of a stolen motor vehicle; (2) Class 3 felony conviction records for theft, retail theft, deceptive practices, and forgery; and (3) Class 4 felony conviction records for possession of cannabis, possession of a controlled substance, violation of the Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act, violation of the Steroid Control Act, prostitution, theft, retail theft, deceptive practices, forgery, and possession of burglary tools (rather than only Class 4 felony convictions for possession of cannabis, possession of a controlled substance, Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act, Steroid Control Act, and prostitution).

HB3061 amends the Illinois Criminal Identification Act.

Ford organized activities for attendees including a panel discussion with representatives from the Cook County’s State’s Attorney’s Office, expert criminal attorneys and representatives from community organizations that specialize in ex-offender issues. Representatives from Cabrini-Green, City Colleges of Chicago, Safer Foundation, TCF Bank and Albany Park Community Center were also on hand as contributors to the summit.

One provision of HB3061 is that it seals arrest records which prevents them from being visible to potential employers during background checks. Sealing an arrest record differs from expunging in that expunging an arrest record erases it. Sealing an arrest record simply conceals it from the view of non-police officials.

“It’s all about a second chance for individuals who are on the track. This is a win for the community, ex-offenders, and tax payers,” said State Rep. Ford. “Everyone must join this movement because we see when people fight together things change. Why not forgive the reformed individuals from our country that say that I’m reformed and I can prove that I’m reformed? That’s what today is about and that’s what’s going to continue to happen, if you’re patient.”

Melissa Williams, a HB3061 advocate and active member of the Chicago West Side branch of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) told the Chicago Citizen Newspaper, “The community came up with this initiative and we have been circulating petitions for quite some time. We were really able to build a great team of community organizations, community members [and] legislators so it was great to see the process work in the way that it should be with everybody’s involvement.”

Williams, via her affiliations with various organizations, has advocated for HB3016 for over two years.

“We have to change the way we think about ex-offenders…My crime occurred in 1991, it is 2013, yet, I’m still shadowed by that conviction,” said the summit’s keynote speaker Randy Ryder, an ex-offender who since his release from prison 22 years ago has not been arrested nor convicted of a crime.

Illinois is one of 13 states that allow a convict to vote immediately upon released.

HB3061 takes effect on January 2, 2014.

To learn more about how to get arrest records sealed and/or expunged visit http://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/. To learn more about your own arrest record call (312) 745-5128.

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