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ILLINOIS CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECK FOR EXPUNGEMENT / RECORD CLEARING

BEGIN THE PROCESS TO CLEAR YOUR RECORD

Obtaining a copy of your current Illinois Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) or “Rap Sheet” is advisable for individuals to check their record for accuracy or clear their record through the expungement process. Once you have reviewed your Illinois criminal record information, if you feel that any part of the report is inaccurate, incomplete, or eligible for expungement, you can file a “Record Challenge” form with the Illinois State Police (ISP) to clear all eligible records.

TAKE THE FIRST STEP

The first step is to apply for an Illinois Access and Review to receive a copy of your current Illinois criminal record history. An Access and Review check will require you to be fingerprinted in order to make a positive biometric confirmation to the person identified in the criminal record. The process is fast and easy. Follow the steps below.

Find A Location

To get fingerprinting for Illinois Access and Review, follow the simple steps below:

Applicants will need to follow these simple steps:

Find a convenient Accurate Biometrics fingerprint location and hours of operation by clicking here. No appointments necessary!

Bring your Driver’s License or State ID with you to the site. If the address on the State ID is not correct, you will need to provide additional proof confirming where you are residing such as an electric or credit card bill. You will receive your Rap Sheet report by mail, so we are required to confirm the address of your current place of residence.

We will capture your fingerprints and transmit them, the same day, to the Illinois State Police (ISP). A fingerprint services receipt noting the assigned Transaction Control Number (TCN) will be provided to the applicant at the completion of the fingerprint capture process.

Results will be mailed to the requesting individual from the ISP and should be received within 15 days, although it may take longer.

If you do not receive your results in 15 days, you must call the ISP to have them resend your response. The ISP prefers an email request at [email protected]; to contact the ISP by phone call 815-740-5160, then select option #2.

Be sure to retain the fingerprint receipt you receive from the fingerprint technician. You will need the Transaction Control Number (TCN) to follow up on the status of your prints with the ISP.

*Price: The walk-in client fee is $52, due at the time of fingerprinting. The price includes state processing fees. We accept credit/debit cards, company checks and money orders. We do not accept cash or personal checks. Click here to view the complete list of payment terms.

REVIEW YOUR ACCESS AND REVIEW REPORT

Review your Access and Review report to promptly begin the petition process using one of the following options:

Your attorney
A community legal aid or action group (see resource links below)
On your own through the ISP, start with these links (see resource links below)

FOLLOW UP WITH AN FBI RECORDS CHECK

All states, including Illinois, report conviction information to the FBI. If a federal offense occurs in Illinois, the charges and arrest record are only compiled at the FBI level and not at the State level. To check that one’s FBI criminal record history is accurate and up-to-date, an individual can follow up with a FBI Identity History Summary (IdHS) check, often referred to as a Departmental Order (556-73). An individual should also check to make sure that their updated state record is accurate and up-to-date at the FBI level. To find out more, click here

RESOURCES

Illinois Cannabis Convictions

In November 2020, a state-funded initiative called New Leaf Illinois was announced. New Leaf Illinois aims to connect applicants with nonprofit organizations offering free legal representation and information on expunging marijuana arrests or convictions. Applicants can visit New Leaf Illinois and fill out an online form to be paired with a legal professional from one of the 20 member organizations to determine what options are available to them. The New Leaf Illinois hotline number is 855-963-9532.

ACCESS AND REVIEW IS...

A personal review of your criminal history data on file with the Illinois state Police
Contains all Illinois reported data including Juvenile data
Requires a fingerprint-based background check

Access and Review returns your entire Illinois Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) or Rap Sheet, all compiled (reported) Illinois state criminal history data, not just conviction information.

Illinois Law, specifically the Illinois Criminal Identification Act 20 ILCS 2630/7, and Illinois Administrative Rule governs the procedural guidelines permitting an individual to approach a licensed live scan fingerprint vendor for the purpose of obtaining their entire Illinois criminal history rap sheet.

For more on Access and Review visit: accuratebiometrics.com/illinois/services/access-review

THE NEED FOR RECORDS CLEARING

Recent research on the number of Americans that have a been incarcerated and have a criminal record has uncovered staggering statistics¹:

1 in 2 adults in the U.S. has had an immediate family member incarcerated for one or more nights in jail or prison.
113 million adults – nearly half of all adults in America – have experienced family incarceration
1 in 5 has had a parent incarcerated
Incarceration disproportionately impacts people of color and families who are low-income

A 2009 Justice Department study found that a past criminal conviction of any sort reduces the likelihood of a job offer by nearly 50 percent.²

It is no surprise that having a record makes a job search that much harder. The difficulties to making a better life created by having a criminal record include:³

Finding and keeping a job
Getting a professional license
Enrolling in public benefits
Securing housing
Obtaining a student loan

An estimated 20-30 million Americans could clear their criminal records partially or entirely.⁴

With so many people eligible to have their record cleared (expungement and/or record sealing), what barriers are keeping individuals from pursuing criminal record clearing?⁵

They don’t know they are eligible
They don’t know how to do it
They think the cost will be prohibitive
They think it will take too much time

Accurate Biometrics, a trusted fingerprint service provider for 20 years, offers fingerprinting for Illinois Access and Review criminal history record checks. Results are mailed to the applicant directly from the state (allow 7 to 10 business days). The cost is $52. Click here to learn more, https://accuratebiometrics.com/illinois/services/access-review

We offer walk-in service at over 40 locations in Illinois. For a live schedule of hours and locations, visit: https://accuratebiometrics.com/results-by-zip

Accurate Biometrics also offers a Personal or Self FBI Background Check to individuals who would like a federal nationwide records check. Information on how to get a FBI Background Check (Departmental Order 5556-73) can be found here:https://accuratebiometrics.com/nationwide/services/fbi-personal-background

Footnotes:

1 Every Second, The Impact of Incarceration on America’s Families | Key Findings, December 2018, published by FWD.us, https://everysecond.fwd.us/downloads/EverySecond.fwd.us.pdf

2 Investigating Prisoner Reentry: The Impact of Conviction Status on the Employment Prospects of Young Men, by Devah Pager and Bruce Western, October 2009, a National Institute of Justice Grant, Award 2005-IJ-CX-0019, www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/228584.pdf

3,5 Repairing the Road to Redemption: How “Clean Slate” Policies Are Reshaping California’s Criminal Justice Reform Landscape, by Evonne M. Silva, Code for America, March 2019, https://calbudgetcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/PI-19-Silva-slides.pdf

4 The Second Chance Gap, by Colleen V. Chien, October 24, 2019, Michigan Law Review, Forthcoming. SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3265335

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