Unlike his two predecessors, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has managed to defy being pigeon-holed with respect to his clemency authority use. During his first two years in office (which included the first year of the COVID pandemic), Gov. Pritzker’s clemency pardon grant numbers suggested he would exceed Gov. Pat Quinn’s grant rate of just over 30%.
Read MoreIna Silvergleid aims to use printmaking to improve criminal justice reform.
Silvergleid says she’s been practicing art longer than she’s been practicing the law. But it wasn’t until 2016 that she realized she could combine both passions to spark new conversations.
“Now that I do the work that I do, which is mostly addressing criminal justice issues, sometimes I just want to say something and I am hoping that somebody will see it and maybe think twice about whatever they believe they know about the criminal justice system,” Silvergleid says.
Read MoreRecently, for the first time I had to tell a prospective client that he couldn’t seal his felony conviction – and not because the offense he was convicted of was ineligible to seal. Rather, the individual could not seal his conviction because he’d previously sealed two felony convictions on his record.
Unlike misdemeanor offenses -- where there’s no limit on how often you can petition to seal -- there is a limit on how often you can seal a felony conviction in Illinois.
Read MoreLast year I alerted readers to the fact that the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk’s (Clerk’s) office failed to mail out an unknown number of expunge and sealing orders for processing by the Illinois State Police (ISP) and police. If you had a petition to expunge or seal granted in Cook County in 2020 or 2021 and never received letters from the ISP or police telling you that your court order was processed, the most likely explanation: the Clerk’s office never mailed out your order(s). That means your record(s) were never expunged or sealed.
Read MoreOne of the thorniest issues people face who have a criminal record is that it is near impossible to remove all public references to their case if it received press coverage -- be it a mugshot, a blurb in the local paper’s police blotter, or more extensive coverage. Expunging or sealing a record will not eliminate these references.
Read MoreA recent mistake found on a client’s job-related criminal background report highlights how some Illinois employers still aren’t providing these reports to job applicants and employees, even though existing state and federal laws require them to do so.
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