How to Pass a Criminal Background Check in Illinois When You Have a Record
Can I pass a criminal background check in Illinois if I have a criminal record? This is a question I am frequently asked. Unfortunately, there is no simple, one-size-fits-all answer.
Criminal Background Checks are Job Specific
Criminal background checks vary depending on the type of work you’re looking for. Generally, criminal background checks are done one of two ways: 1) a fingerprint non-public record search, or 2) a public records search.
If you’re looking for employment in a highly regulated field – banking, financial services, working with or around children – you will undergo a fingerprint check.
Fingerprint searches are usually run through both the FBI’s and state agency’s criminal records databases. This gives employers access to criminal record information for all 50 states.
In Illinois, the Illinois State Police (ISP) is responsible for maintaining criminal records. Illinois prohibits the ISP from disclosing arrest or juvenile record information. In Illinois, juvenile records are not available to the public.
It is not uncommon for the FBI to provide a different response to a background check than the ISP. The primary reason why this is that the FBI releases any information it has on someone (juvenile, arrest and conviction records).
In 2011, the ISP stopped reporting juvenile record information to the FBI to help limit further release of this information. If you have a juvenile record that predates 2011, it is probably a good idea to expunge these records – particularly if you work in a field where you’re required to be fingerprinted. \
The second reason is that post-arrest information is often missing from the FBI’s database. If formal charges were never filed or the original charges were reduced to a misdemeanor, the FBI may not have this information.
Not All Criminal Records Are Created Equal
When you’ve been offered a job conditioned on “passing” a criminal background check – a common practice -- what’s on your criminal background will determine whether you still have the job.
Employer hiring policies tend to fall into one of the following categories:
Does not hire anyone with a criminal record (arrests or convictions)
Does not hire anyone convicted of a crime within past 7 or 10 years
Does not hire anyone with a felony record
Will perform a case-by-case review of anyone who has non-violent, minor convictions
Where an employer has a blanket policy of denying employment to anyone with a criminal record, a job applicant isn’t likely to get a chance to provide additional information about their record in hopes of obtaining a favorable result – a job.
Background Check Protections Frequently Ignored
Nowadays, most companies outsource the job of conducting criminal background checks to a consumer reporting agency (CRA). In most states, CRA vendors are solely regulated by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
As employer-based criminal background checks have become more commonplace, states have stepped in to further regulate this practice. The extent to which employers comply with these laws is spotty. They include:
Ban-the-Box (bans criminal history question on an initial job application, with exceptions)
Human Rights Act (bars consideration of arrest records)
FCRA (provide copy of background report to check for accuracy, issue pre- and post-adverse letters)
Maximizing Your Odds of Passing a Criminal Background Check
In the past five years, passing a criminal background check got much easier for Illinois residents. Currently, the expungement/sealing eligibility can be summarized as follows:
All adult arrest and juvenile records are expungable
Most adult misdemeanor and felony convictions are sealable
No one should take these laws for granted. Just north of the border, in Wisconsin, if you’re convicted with so much as a misdemeanor that record will follow you for the rest of your life.
This, the best way to pass a criminal background check: expunge and seal it.