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Recent expert research on the number of Americans that have been incarcerated and have a criminal record has uncovered staggering statistics1:
1 in 2 adults in the U.S. has had an immediate family member incarcerated for one or more nights in jail or prison.
113 million adults – nearly half of all adults in America – have experienced family incarceration
1 in 5 has had a parent incarcerated
Incarceration disproportionately impacts people of color and families who are low-income
A 2009 Justice Department study found that a past criminal conviction of any sort reduces the likelihood of a job offer by nearly 50 percent. 2
It is no surprise that having a record makes a job search that much harder. The difficulties to making a better life created by having a criminal record include:3
Finding and keeping a job
Getting a professional license
Enrolling in public benefits
Securing housing
Obtaining a student loan
An estimated 20-30 million Americans could clear their criminal records partially or entirely.4
With so many people eligible to have their record cleared (expungement and/or record sealing), what barriers are keeping individuals from pursuing criminal record clearing?5
They don’t know they are eligible
They don’t know how to do it
They think the cost will be prohibitive
They think it will take too much time
The first step to applying for a state record clearing, or expungement is to get a personal criminal records check. In Illinois, an Access and Review records check returns all compiled (reported) Illinois state criminal history data, not just conviction information.
To obtain an Access and Review, an applicant will need to be fingerprinted. The fingerprints are processed by the Illinois State police (ISP), who will return the applicant's criminal history transcript along with a Record Challenge form. (If no criminal record history is found, a written statement to that effect is sent to the applicant.)
An applicant can fill out the Record Challenge form and apply to expunge records on their own. Information on submitting a record challenge to the ISP can be found under Criminal History on their website:
https://www.isp.state.il.us/crimhistory/viewingchrircds.cfm
Not all records may be eligible for expungement. An individual may want to request assistance from their attorney, or seek guidance from pro bono or set fee organizations available to help advise individuals on legal matters, including which record information may be cleared. (Scroll down for links to a few organizations in Illinois.)
Accurate Biometrics, a trusted fingerprint service provider for 20 years, offers fingerprinting for Illinois Access and Review criminal history record checks. Results are mailed to the applicant directly from the state (allow 7 to 10 business days). The cost is $50. Click here to learn more, https://accuratebiometrics.com/illinois/services/access-review.
We offer walk-in service at over 40 locations in Illinois. For a live schedule of hours and locations, visit: https://accuratebiometrics.com/results-by-zip
Accurate Biometrics also offers a Personal or Self FBI Background Check to individuals who would like a federal nationwide records check. Information on how to get a FBI Background Check (Departmental Order 5556-73) can be found here:
https://accuratebiometrics.com/nationwide/services/fbi-personal-background
Illinois Community Legal Aid Resources:
Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic, www.cgla.net
Chicago Volunteer Legal Service, https://www.cvls.org/
DuPage Legal Aid, http://www.dupagelegalaid.org/
Illinois Legal Aid Online, https://pslegal.org/
en Español, https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/es
Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc., https://lincolnlegal.org/
Legal Aid Chicago, https://www.legalaidchicago.org/
Prairie State Legal Services, https://pslegal.org/
Illinois Office of the State Appellate Defender (OSAD)
https://www2.illinois.gov/osad/Pages/default.aspx
Footnotes:
1 Every Second, The Impact of Incarceration on America’s Families | Key Findings,
December 2018, published by FWD.us, https://everysecond.fwd.us/downloads/EverySecond.fwd.us.pdf
2 Investigating Prisoner Reentry: The Impact of Conviction Status on the Employment Prospects of Young Men, by Devah Pager and Bruce Western, October 2009, a National Institute of Justice Grant, Award 2005-IJ-CX-0019, www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/228584.pdf
3,5 Repairing the Road to Redemption: How “Clean Slate” Policies Are Reshaping California’s Criminal Justice Reform Landscape, by Evonne M. Silva, Code for America, March 2019, https://calbudgetcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/PI-19-Silva-slides.pdf
4 The Second Chance Gap, by Colleen V. Chien, October 24, 2019, Michigan Law Review, Forthcoming. SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3265335
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