IT’S OFFICIAL: ILLINOIS JOINS FRATERNITY OF CLEAN SLATE ACT STATES

Question:

Who stands to benefit from the Clean Slate Act's (CSA) mandate to automate the sealing of criminal records?  

Bullet Points:

  • The individuals who stand to benefit most from the CSA are those who have low-level, non-violent convictions.

  • Individuals who have been convicted of a crime of violence or discharge of a firearm, will still have to file a petition requesting expungement or sealing.

  • The CSA's automated sealing provision will not go into effect until January 1, 2029.

  • Other changes made by the CSA to the expungement/sealing process -- eliminating drug test requirement and shortening the waiting period to seal some criminal records (from 3 to 2 years) -- go into effect June 30, 2026.

  • Delays in processing Cook County expungement/sealing orders may be remedied by mailing a copy of the court order and proof of payment (or fee waiver) to the Illinois State Police's expungement unit if more than 70 days has elapsed since the order was signed.

Last Friday, Illinois officially became the thirteenth state to enact the Clean Slate Act after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 1836 into law.

In a nutshell, beginning in 2029, Illinois will commence automatically sealing arrest and some conviction records. For a more detailed explanation of the Clean Slate Act (CSA), please read my November blog about the law.
https://www.abridgeforward.com/blog/good-news-still-in-short-supply-for-those-seeking-clemency-relief-in-illinois

Automation Won’t Eliminate All Petition-Based Expungement/Sealing Requests

By automating the process, the onus of eliminating some criminal case records will shift from the subject (defendant) of the record to the Illinois State Police (ISP) and the county circuit court clerks. Because certain convictions will not be eligible for automatic sealing (e.g., crimes of violence, discharge of firearm), some people will still have to initiate the process on their own by filing a petition to expunge and/or seal.

The delay in getting the automation process up and running is because there is no existing framework to undertake sealing automation. Both the ISP and the circuit clerk offices will likely require additional staffing to support the automation effort.

Other Clean Slate Act Provisions Go into Effect Later this Year

While most of the news coverage surrounding the CSA has focused on automating the sealing process, the Act also amends other features of the expungement/sealing law. These changes will go into effect starting June 30, 2026.

The most notable change is shortening the waiting period to seal (three to two years) for a subset of criminal records: 1) misdemeanor and ordinance violence convictions; and 2) qualified probation cases (i.e., TASC, Second Chance, 1410-710 probation).

Another notable change is that those seeking to seal a felony drug conviction or expunge a successfully completed qualified probation case will no longer be required to attach negative drug test results to their petitions.

Expungement/Sealing Order Processing Delays

Separately, there’s been anecdotical evidence that Cook County expungement/sealing court orders are not being processed by the ISP within the sixty (60) day statutory period. This problem first surfaced during COVID (2020-2021).

It is difficult to pinpoint why these delays are taking place now. Several reasons may be in play: 1) the clerk’s office is not e-mailing or mailing out court orders (to the ISP) in a timely manner, 2) poor delivery service by the U.S. Postal Service, or 3) inadequate staffing in ISP’s expungement unit. 

If at least 70-75 days has passed since a court order has been signed by a judge, it is reasonable to reach out to the state police’s expungement unit to verify receipt of the court order. If the ISP says it never received the court order(s), petitioners can mail copies of the order(s) to the ISP, along with proof of payment.[1] If someone received a fee waiver, send a copy of the fee waiver order to ISP. Here is the expungement unit’s contact information: 815-740-5160 or ISP.Expungement.unit@illinois.gov.

If you still have questions as to whether you’ll benefit from the Clean Slate Act’s automated sealing provisions, please contact A Bridge Forward LLC with your questions.


[1] During the latter part of 2025, I learned that the expungement unit now requires proof of payment when a petitioner provides a copy of his or her court order to ISP for processing. I don’t know what led to this change in protocol.


County clerk offices collect the statutory $60 payment to the ISP in one of two ways: 1) roll the $60 into the base expungement/sealing filing fee -- which is the way Cook County does it; or 2) requires a separate check made payable to the ISP. If the petitioner’s request for expungement or sealing is denied, In the latter case the check payable to the ISP is returned to the petitioner. In Cook County, however, unsuccessful petitioners do not receive a $60 refund. This has always puzzled me. Who pockets the money?

Ina Silvergleid