§ 5-915

Expungement of juvenile law enforcement and juvenile court records. (0.05) (Blank). (0.1)(a) The Illinois State Police and all law enforcement agencies within the State shall automatically expunge, on or before January 1 of each year, except as described in paragraph (c) of this subsection (0.1), all juvenile law enforcement records relating to events occurring before an individual's 18th birthday if: (1) one year or more has elapsed since the date of the arrest or law enforcement interaction documented in the records; (2) no petition for delinquency or criminal charges were filed with the clerk of the circuit court relating to the arrest or law enforcement interaction documented in the records; and (3) 6 months have elapsed since the date of the arrest without an additional subsequent arrest or filing of a petition for delinquency or criminal charges whether related or not to the arrest or law enforcement interaction documented in the records. (b) If the law enforcement agency is unable to verify satisfaction of conditions (2) and (3) of this subsection (0.1), records that satisfy condition (1) of this subsection (0.1) shall be automatically expunged if the records relate to an offense that if committed by an adult would not be an offense classified as a Class 2 felony or higher, an offense under Article 11 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or Criminal Code of 2012, or an offense under Section 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, or 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961. (c) If the juvenile law enforcement record was received through a public submission to a statewide student confidential reporting system administered by the Illinois State Police, the record will be maintained for a period of 5 years according to all other provisions in this subsection (0.1). (0.15) If a juvenile law enforcement record meets paragraph (a) of subsection (0.1) of this Section, a juvenile law enforcement record created: (1) prior to January 1, 2018, but on or after January 1, 2013 shall be automatically expunged prior to January 1, 2020; (2) prior to January 1, 2013, but on or after January 1, 2000, shall be automatically expunged prior to January 1, 2023; and (3) prior to January 1, 2000 shall not be subject to the automatic expungement provisions of this Act. Nothing in this subsection (0.15) shall be construed to restrict or modify an individual's right to have the person's juvenile law enforcement records expunged except as otherwise may be provided in this Act. (0.2)(a) Upon dismissal of a petition alleging delinquency or upon a finding of not delinquent, the successful termination of an order of supervision, or the successful termination of an adjudication for an offense which would be a Class B misdemeanor, Class C misdemeanor, or a petty or business offense if committed by an adult, the court shall automatically order the expungement of the juvenile court records and juvenile law enforcement records. The clerk shall deliver a certified copy of the expungement order to the Illinois State Police and the arresting agency. Upon request, the State's Attorney shall furnish the name of the arresting agency. The expungement shall be completed within 60 business days after the receipt of the expungement order. (b) If the chief law enforcement officer of the agency, or the chief law enforcement officer's designee, certifies in writing that certain information is needed for a pending investigation involving the commission of a felony, that information, and information identifying the juvenile, may be retained until the statute of limitations for the felony has run. If the chief law enforcement officer of the agency, or the chief law enforcement officer's designee, certifies in writing that certain information is needed with respect to an internal investigation of any law enforcement office, that information and information identifying the juvenile may be retained within an intelligence file until the investigation is terminated or the disciplinary action, including appeals, has been completed, whichever is later. Retention of a portion of a juvenile's law enforcement record does not disqualify the remainder of a juvenile's record from immediate automatic expungement. (0.3)(a) Upon an adjudication of delinquency based on any offense except a disqualified offense, the juvenile court shall automatically order the expungement of the juvenile court and law enforcement records 2 years after the juvenile's case was closed if no delinquency or criminal proceeding is pending and the person has had no subsequent delinquency adjudication or criminal conviction. On the date that the minor's sentence ends or the date that the court enters an order committing the minor to the Department of Juvenile Justice, the juvenile court judge shall schedule a date to enter the automatic expungement order. The minor must be notified but shall not be required to be present for the scheduled court date when automatic expungement is to be ordered. If the minor is not yet eligible on the originally scheduled date, the court shall schedule a subsequent date to enter the automatic expungement order. The clerk shall deliver a certified copy of the expungement order to the Illinois State Police and the arresting agency. Upon request, the State's Attorney shall furnish the name of the arresting agency. The expungement shall be completed within 60 business days after the receipt of the expungement order. In this subsection (0.3), "disqualified offense" means any of the following offenses: Section 8-1.2, 9-1, 9-1.2, 9-2, 9-2.1, 9-3, 9-3.2, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-3.1, 10-4, 10-5, 10-9, 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 11-6, 11-6.5, 12-2, 12-3.05, 12-3.3, 12-4.4a, 12-5.02, 12-6.2, 12-6.5, 12-7.1, 12-7.5, 12-20.5, 12-32, 12-33, 12-34, 12-34.5, 18-1, 18-2, 18-3, 18-4, 18-6, 19-3, 19-6, 20-1, 20-1.1, 24-1.2, 24-1.2-5, 24-1.5, 24-3A, 24-3B, 24-3.2, 24-3.8, 24-3.9, 29D-14.9, 29D-20, 30-1, 31-1a, 32-4a, or 33A-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012, or subsection (b) of Section 8-1, paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of Section 11-14.4, subsection (a-5) of Section 12-3.1, paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) of Section 12-6, subsection (a-3) or (a-5) of Section 12-7.3, paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of Section 12-7.4, subparagraph (i) of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Section 12-9, subparagraph (H) of paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of Section 24-1.6, paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Section 25-1, or subsection (a-7) of Section 31-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012. (b) If the chief law enforcement officer of the agency, or the chief law enforcement officer's designee, certifies in writing that certain information is needed for a pending investigation involving the commission of a felony, that information, and information identifying the juvenile, may be retained in an intelligence file until the investigation is terminated or for one additional year, whichever is sooner. Retention of a portion of a juvenile's juvenile law enforcement record does not disqualify the remainder of a juvenile's record from immediate automatic expungement. (0.4) Automatic expungement for the purposes of this Section shall not require law enforcement agencies to obliterate or otherwise destroy juvenile law enforcement records that would otherwise need to be automatically expunged under this Act, except after 2 years following the subject arrest for purposes of use in civil litigation against a governmental entity or its law enforcement agency or personnel which created, maintained, or used the records. However, these juvenile law enforcement records shall be considered expunged for all other purposes during this period and the offense, which the records or files concern, shall be treated as if it never occurred as required under Section 5-923. (0.5) Subsection (0.1) or (0.2) of this Section does not apply to violations of traffic laws, conservation offenses, or county or municipal ordinances. (0.6) Juvenile law enforcement records of a plaintiff who has filed civil litigation against the governmental entity or its law enforcement agency or personnel that created, maintained, or used the records, or juvenile law enforcement records that contain information related to the allegations set forth in the civil litigation may not be expunged until after 2 years have elapsed after the conclusion of the lawsuit, including any appeal. (0.7) Officer-worn body camera recordings shall not be automatically expunged except as otherwise authorized by the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act. (1) Whenever a person has been arrested, charged, or adjudicated delinquent for an incident occurring before a person's 18th birthday that if committed by an adult would be an offense, and that person's juvenile law enforcement and juvenile court records are not eligible for automatic expungement under subsection (0.1), (0.2), or (0.3), the person may petition the court at any time at no cost to the person for expungement of juvenile law enforcement records and juvenile court records relating to the incident and, upon termination of all juvenile court proceedings relating to that incident, the court shall order the expungement of all records in the possession of the Illinois State Police, the clerk of the circuit court, and law enforcement agencies relating to the incident, but only in any of the following circumstances: (a) the minor was arrested and no petition for delinquency was filed with the clerk of the circuit court; (a-5) the minor was charged with an offense and the petition or petitions were dismissed without a finding of delinquency; (b) the minor was charged with an offense and was found not delinquent of that offense; (c) the minor was placed under supervision under Section 5-615, and the order of supervision has since been successfully terminated; or (d) the minor was adjudicated for an offense which would be a Class B misdemeanor, Class C misdemeanor, or a petty or business offense if committed by an adult. (1.5) At no cost to the person, the Illinois State Police shall allow a person to use the Access and Review process, established in the Illinois State Police, for verifying that the person's juvenile law enforcement records relating to incidents occurring before the person's 18th birthday eligible under this Act have been expunged. (1.6) (Blank). (1.7) (Blank). (1.8) (Blank). (2) Any person whose delinquency adjudications are not eligible for automatic expungement under subsection (0.3) of this Section may petition the court at no cost to the person to expunge all juvenile law enforcement records relating to any incidents occurring before the person's 18th birthday which did not result in proceedings in criminal court and all juvenile court records with respect to any adjudications except those based upon first degree murder or an offense under Article 11 of the Criminal Code of 2012 if the person is required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act at the time the person petitions the court for expungement; provided that 2 years have elapsed since all juvenile court proceedings relating to the person have been terminated and the person's commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice under this Act has been terminated. (2.5) If a minor is arrested and no petition for delinquency is filed with the clerk of the circuit court at the time the minor is released from custody, the youth officer, if applicable, or other designated person from the arresting agency, shall notify verbally and in writing to the minor or the minor's parents or guardians that the minor shall have an arrest record and shall provide the minor and the minor's parents or guardians with an expungement information packet, information regarding this State's expungement laws including a petition to expunge juvenile law enforcement and juvenile court records obtained from the clerk of the circuit court. (2.6) If a minor is referred to court, then, at the time of sentencing, dismissal of the case, or successful completion of supervision, the judge shall inform the delinquent minor of the minor's rights regarding expungement and the clerk of the circuit court shall provide an expungement information packet to the minor, written in plain language, including information regarding this State's expungement laws and a petition for expungement, a sample of a completed petition, expungement instructions that shall include information informing the minor that (i) once the case is expunged, it shall be treated as if it never occurred, (ii) the minor shall not be charged a fee to petition for expungement, (iii) once the minor obtains an expungement, the minor may not be required to disclose that the minor had a juvenile law enforcement or juvenile court record, and (iv) if petitioning the minor may file the petition on the minor's own or with the assistance of an attorney. The failure of the judge to inform the delinquent minor of the minor's right to petition for expungement as provided by law does not create a substantive right, nor is that failure grounds for: (i) a reversal of an adjudication of delinquency; (ii) a new trial; or (iii) an appeal. (2.6-1) A trafficking victim, as defined by paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of Section 10-9 of the Criminal Code of 2012, may petition for vacation and expungement or immediate sealing of his or her juvenile court records and juvenile law enforcement records relating to events that resulted in the victim's adjudication of delinquency for an offense if committed by an adult would be a violation of the criminal laws occurring before the victim's 18th birthday upon the completion of his or her juvenile court sentence if his or her participation in the underlying offense was a result of human trafficking under Section 10-9 of the Criminal Code of 2012 or a severe form of trafficking under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act. (2.7) (Blank). (2.8) (Blank). (3) (Blank). (3.1) (Blank). (3.2) (Blank). (3.3) (Blank). (4) (Blank). (5) (Blank). (5.5) Whether or not expunged, records eligible for automatic expungement under subdivision (0.1)(a), (0.2)(a), or (0.3)(a) may be treated as expunged by the individual subject to the records. (6) (Blank). (6.5) The Illinois State Police or any employee of the Illinois State Police shall be immune from civil or criminal liability for failure to expunge any records of arrest that are subject to expungement under this Section because of inability to verify a record. Nothing in this Section shall create Illinois State Police liability or responsibility for the expungement of juvenile law enforcement records it does not possess. (7) (Blank). (7.5) (Blank). (8) The expungement of juvenile law enforcement or juvenile court records under subsection (0.1), (0.2), or (0.3) of this Section shall be funded by appropriation by the General Assembly for that purpose. (9) (Blank). (10) (Blank).

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-379, eff. 7-28-23; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24; 103-717, eff. 1-1-25; 103-787, eff. 1-1-25; 104-325, eff. 1-1-26; 104-417, eff. 8-15-25 .)