‘Clean Slate’ Act passes after failing to clear legislature in past
years
[November 07, 2025]
By Maggie Dougherty
CHICAGO — Nearly 2.2 million people in Illinois might see eligible
criminal records sealed following passage of the ‘Clean Slate’ Act
during last week’s veto session.
The bill would require law enforcement agencies to automatically seal
eligible criminal records every six months. Excluded from the measure
are convictions for sexual violence against minors, DUIs, reckless
driving, cruelty to animals and serious violent crimes, including any
that would qualify for sex offender registration.
“We are not adding any crimes that are not currently allowed to be
sealed by petition, we are just making the process automatic,” bill
sponsor Sen. Elgie Sims Jr., D-Chicago, said during discussion on the
Senate floor.
After an earlier version of the bill failed to clear both chambers
during the spring legislative session, House Bill 1836 now awaits only a
signature from Gov. JB Pritzker to become law. The legislation passed
39-17 in the Senate and 80-26 in the House during the fall veto session.
Law enforcement, courts and other relevant agencies would continue to
have access to sealed records, but the public and private background
check entities would not. Automatic sealing would apply to convictions
as well as dismissed or reversed charges and arrests.
Advocates of the bill say it will give Illinoisians a second chance to
participate in society and will open new opportunities to work, vote and
secure housing.
Although a 2021 amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits
employers from discriminating based on criminal convictions, many say
they continue to face employment challenges due to their records.
The Clean Slate Initiative — a bipartisan organization that seeks to
pass automatic record sealing laws across the U.S. — estimates that
sealing records would infuse $4.7 billion in lost wages back into the
state’s economy annually.
“To me, this is a jobs bill,” Sims said of the Clean Slate Act.
Twelve other states and the District of Columbia have similar laws in
place, according to advocates.
If signed, the bill would create a task force dedicated to overseeing
implementation of the bill over the next five years and producing an
annual report detailing progress. Automated sealing by the courts would
begin by Jan. 1, 2031.
Partisan divide
Republican senators raised concerns during floor debate regarding
appropriations needed to fund the bill, additional exemptions to
automatic sealing, and the removal of a drug test requirement for
sealing records.
Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, said she feared the $18 million
estimated cost for circuit clerks to comply with automatic sealing would
ultimately result in a property tax increase for local municipalities.
That $18 million, which does not include costs for Cook County, would be
phased in over five years. But future General Assemblies would have to
agree to provide the funding.
In reply, Sims invited Bryant to participate in this year’s budget
process.
Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said he wished that crimes involving
financial exploitation of the elderly had been exempted along with
others on the list of exemptions.
McClure said he had seen the impact of those crimes on people’s lives
while working as a prosecutor. He feared the Clean Slate Act would make
it harder for victims to seek compensation and for families to avoid
hiring someone with a record of harming the elderly.
“The family member who’s hiring to look after their loved one is
shielded from that information,” McClure said.
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State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, speaks on the Senate floor
on Oct. 30, 2025. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)
Sims said he discussed the issue of financial crimes against the elderly
with state’s attorneys, and ultimately he decided it was appropriate to
include those crimes in automated sealing.
McClure and Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, each raised concerns regarding
the removal of a requirement that petitioners have proof of passing a
drug test within 30 days of requesting to seal drug-related records.
“You’re trying to rehabilitate people. You’re trying to show that
they’re on the right path, but you’re also saying that you don’t want
them to prove that they can’t stay clean for 48 hours?” McClure said.
Sims said that issue is addressed by a three-year prohibition on sealing
new felony convictions. That is, the latest sentence served by the
individual for a felony conviction is not eligible for sealing until
three years from the end of their most recent sentence.
“Nothing stops us from rearresting and reconvicting anybody who may
decide that they just don’t want to stand on the side of law and order,”
Sen. Willie Preston, D-Chicago, said. “What we can say and send a strong
message to the employers of the state of Illinois, to the people of
Illinois, is that we are not going to be soft on crime, but we are going
to be smart with justice.”
At the heart of the critiques, McClure said, was a concern about
personal responsibility.
“One of the major themes in anyone who is rehabilitated from the
criminal justice system is that they have taken personal responsibility
to get their life on track,” McClure said. “This takes those things
away. So, it makes us less safe.”
Barriers to clean records
The drug test is just one of the hurdles to retaining a clean record
lifted by the bill, according to advocates. They pointed to a study
finding that only 10% of those eligible to have records sealed in
Illinois actually go through the process to do so.
McClure said the process is a simple one involving online forms and that
advocates did not know what they were talking about.
“If the process were easy, then 90% of the people who are eligible to
have their records sealed would not be barred from receiving those
benefits,” Sims responded.
He added that McClure’s experience as an attorney was not representative
of the general population.
“It is daunting for someone who does not go in a courtroom often or
every day to have to go into the courtroom and go through that process,”
Sims said.
According to legal aid resources, the current process of sealing records
includes collecting information on an individual’s case, filling out
forms — some of which can be completed online — and filing a petition in
the county or counties where charges originated. There is usually a fee
to file the petition, and petitioners must give notice to the prosecutor
and police agency associated with the case, which are given 60 days to
object. Some counties require petitioners to appear in court while
others, such as Cook County, handle reviews administratively.
Sims said he hoped the governor would sign the bill, adding that
Pritzker had “always been a champion of giving people second chances.”
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