Getting criminal records expunged in Kane County to get easier with 3 clinics

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – If you’ve got a criminal record in Kane County, this fall might be the season you get to clear it with an expungement.

Those who think their criminal records are eligible to be expunged – that is, erased – three expungement clinics scheduled in September and October will facilitate that process, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said at a media briefing Tuesday.

“We have decided to partner with (Kane County Circuit Clerk) Theresa Barriero,” Mosser said. “This is an idea that she and I had discussed a lot while we were campaigning together.”

People would want to know what types of cases can qualify and what the timing is after a case is concluded, Mosser said.

“Because when a person comes in and takes responsibility for a case, does their sentence and successfully completes it, there should be an easier path to be able to clear that record up,” Mosser said.

A criminal record can affect a person’s ability to get housing, loans for school or a mortgage, and get a job, Mosser said.

Mosser and Barriero have also teamed up with Sheriff Ron Hain, the Kane County law library, Kane County Bar Association and Prairie State Legal Services for the three clinics, she said.

“We’re going to talk about the ability for people to clear their record and how that happens, and then an attorney from Prairie State legal Services will actually walk them through legally how it has to happen,” Mosser said. “We’re going to have volunteer attorneys there along with members of the Circuit Clerk and the Sheriff’s department to actually help people fill out the paperwork, and then to be able to electronically file it so that the cases are already started for them.”

The sheriff’s office will do criminal histories, so the attorneys can get all the case numbers, police numbers and police report numbers, Mosser said.

When the expungement is filed, notice goes to the department that did the arrest, the state’s attorney, sheriff and state police, which all have 60 days to file a written objection if there is any, Mosser said.

“We are very pleased to be able to partner all together to bring that to the people in our community,” Mosser said.

The expungement would be registered in is the federal LEADS or the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System – which covers all the state law enforcement agencies, she said.

Other databases, such as NexisLexis or Google, are not affected by the expungement.

“That is something we thought about when we created the pre-arrest diversion program. Sometimes just that alone – that arrest –and putting somebody in the system even if they completed the deferred prosecution program, it still comes back to that Google search because of that report that happened.” Mosser said.

“It’s not a perfect system, it’s not going to clear up everything. But at least a regular criminal background check, it’s not going to come up if it’s expunged or if it’s sealed,” Mosser said. “The only people who have access to it then are law enforcement or government agencies.”

Expungement erases the crime as though it never happened. Sealing a record means the general public cannot access it, but law enforcement and government agencies can, she said.

But Mosser said expunging a record from internet searches or other databases is something she hopes will come from “creative legislation.”

“Because if you look at the way our expungement-sealing statutes are now, we are still missing a lot of cases that should be granted either an expungement or sealing,” Mosser said.

“When we created these laws, it was back when we wanted people to stay with drug convictions for the rest of their life,” Mosser said.

“Now we see it as a mental health and addiction crisis that we want to help people with,” Mosser said. “I think there is room to improve the legislation under both expungement and sealing to add in crimes that could be expunged or sealed and make it so that more agencies can be required to remove the information from their system so we are truly benefiting these people.”

She said they are in discussion with local legislators on those issues.

The first expungement clinic will be from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Aurora Public Library, 101 S. River St., Aurora, 630-264-4117.

The second will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin, 847-742-2411.

The third will be from 9:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 2 at the Geneva Public Library, 227 S. Seventh St., Geneva, 630-232-0780.

Mosser said all the services are free except a filing fee, which can be waived.

The expungement clinics follow a successful expungement of 13,858 marijuana cases of people convicted of misdemeanor amounts before it was decriminalized.

The Circuit Clerk’s Office did a search of its system to see who would qualify under the expungement statutes and sent a spreadsheet to Mosser’s office for review.

Then her office drafted expungement orders to be signed off by Kane County Associate Judge Julia Yetter, Mosser said.

“We did it in increments,” Mosser said. “Everything was done electronically.”