General Info

Sealed records are maintained by law enforcement agencies. By sealing the record, the general public does not have access to your criminal history. This includes public inquiries and background checks done by employers. Law enforcement and prosecutors will still have access to your sealed records. If your case is sealed, the Clerk of the Circuit Court will impound your file. This means that your record will not be destroyed, and it will not be returned to you. Your record will be unavailable in the Clerk of the Circuit Courtâ??s system but can be accessed upon in order of the courts. If your cases do not qualify for expungement, you may still be eligible to have some, or all your cases sealed. Sealing can be done on a case-by-case basis And include sentences of court supervision, as well as, certain criminal convictions. Therefore, you can have some of your case is expunged and some of your case is sealed depending on which cases qualify for which remedy. Sealing is different from expungement in that with expungements, the records are purged and destroyed from law enforcement and court records. With sealing, the cases are closed to the public viewing, but still remain within law enforcement records. Recent changes in the law have expanded the sealing of criminal records of adults and of minors prosecuted as adults. The new law expands the sealing of all guilty convictions for felony or misdemeanor charges (with four exceptions), as long as it has been three years from the completion of the most recent case, or when the petitioner has been removed from the murder or violent offender against youth registry. To determine whether you qualify for a sealing of your record please contact Illinois Expungement Attorneys today.