Long gone are the days when it used to be easy to obtain Illinois clemency grant and denial information, setting forth the criminal offense, county of arrest, and case year of every petition (pardon or commutation) ruled on by the governor. Due to the way clemency information is now “packaged,” I can no longer provide verifiable data on the number of clemency petitions (pardon v. commutation) filed, granted or denied.
Read MoreEarlier this week I received an e-mail excitedly announcing the Chicago Sun-Times’ new “Right to Be Forgotten” policy, which considers requests to remove certain crime stories.
Having previously written about the adoption of such policies, I was obviously thrilled to hear that, finally, an Illinois newspaper was joining the ranks of other socially progressive news organizations. Unfortunately, the policy doesn’t live up to its surrounding hype.
Read MoreEvery so often my powers of persuasion fail me and I am unsuccessful in convincing someone of the value of expunging and sealing their criminal record. One person, in particular, is always top of mind. Ian and I crossed paths shortly after he got fired. At the time, Ian was focused on suing his former employer for wrongful termination. Knowing that Ian was not going to get his job back, I tried to convince him to get his criminal record sealed.
Read MoreRecently I was talking to a downstate Illinois legal aid attorney about expungement/sealing practices in a county across the border from St. Louis.
I told her how some judges in the northern portion of the state routinely seal cases eligible to expunge when state prosecutors object to expunging the record. The attorney exclaimed: “Why would they do that?” It’s a question that I’ve been asking myself a lot lately.
Read MoreEmployers Persist in Asking Improper Criminal History Questions. How Does a Job Applicant Respond? Recently I was contacted by an individual who was certain an employer had asked him an illegal criminal history question. The employer had offered the caller a job contingent on “passing” a criminal background check. At the same time, the caller was given an employment application to fill out that included this question: Have you ever been named a party in a civil or criminal case?
In Illinois, there is only one question a private employer can legally ask: Have you ever been convicted of a crime? Illinois Human Rights Act, 775 ILCS 5/2-103-103.1.
Read MoreDo you know that a criminal conviction – any conviction – will disqualify you from attending nursing school (or any other licensed health care worker program) in Illinois? Fortunately, for Illinois residents, we have a law that authorizes the sealing of most criminal convictions. In those cases where a conviction can’t be sealed (e.g., domestic battery), there is another remedy: seeking a pardon from the governor (and permission to expunge).
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