TINLEY PARK- The Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission found that between 2004 and 2014, only 0.26 percent of juvenile arrests in Illinois were expunged, and 87 percent of counties granted an average of less than one juvenile expungement per year.

To tackle this issue, State Senator Michael E. Hastings’ measure House Bill 3817 to combat unlawful and overly broad sharing of juvenile records in Illinois was signed into law today.
 
“This is a step in the right direction. We need to be working toward rehabilitating children caught in our court system to give them a chance to succeed, not crippling them with the mistakes of their past,” Hastings said. “This change will result in an infinite number of positive outcomes for our state’s young people.”  

House Bill 3817 takes a number of precautions to give Illinois’ children a second chance to succeed, such as narrowing the cases when juvenile records for nonviolent crimes may be shared and then expanding penalties for the improper disclosure of records.

These steps will protect privacy and give younger nonviolent offenders a fair chance at reforming their lives and being successful in future endeavors.
 
“We need to help our young people transition to be productive adults,” Hastings said. “Current policies concerning the arrest records of youth are not making our streets any safer and costing the state immeasurable costs.”

The new law also expands the scope and eligibility requirements for expungement. Adolescents can be eligible for automatic expungement if there is not a discovery of delinquency on any offense two years after the case proceedings.

"I believe in second chances and investing in the young people of our state,” Hastings said “ This law will give our youth who make mistakes early in life a chance to succeed.  I think everybody can get behind that.”

House Bill 3817 passed the Senate and House with bipartisan support. The new law goes into effect on January 1, 2018.