Summary as Introduced
Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that the offense of methamphetamine trafficking may be tried in any county. Permits the Attorney General to authorize certain eavesdropping requests from law enforcement. Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Permits the Attorney General or an Assistant Attorney General authorized by the Attorney General to authorize an application to a circuit judge or an associate judge assigned by the Chief Judge of the circuit for, and such judge may grant in conformity with the Judicial Supervision of the Use of Eavesdropping Devices Article of the Code, an order authorizing or approving the use of an eavesdropping device by a law enforcement officer or agency having the responsibility for the investigation of any felony under Illinois law where any one party to a conversation to be monitored, or previously monitored in the case of an emergency situation, has consented to such monitoring. Amends the Statewide Grand Jury Act. Provides that a Statewide Grand Jury may investigate, indict, and prosecute theft, retail theft, Internet offenses, continuing financial crimes enterprise, vehicular hijacking, aggravated vehicular hijacking, vehicular invasion, burglary, residential burglary, and home invasion if the offense involves acts occurring in more than one county of the State.
Staff Analysis
HB 1836 (Senator Elgie Sims, D-Chicago), commonly referred to as the Clean Slate Act, updates Illinois’ Criminal Identification Act and related procedures to expand and streamline the sealing of criminal records.
Key Provisions
- Improves record accuracy by allowing the Illinois State Police to flag cases with missing court outcomes and requiring courts, law enforcement, and other reporting entities to correct errors or incomplete data.
- Expands the types of records eligible for sealing and removes barriers such as drug-test requirements and restrictions related to subsequent felony convictions.
- Establishes automatic sealing processes, including for municipal ordinance violations and Class C misdemeanors.
- Replaces references to “offender” with “petitioner” and adjusts timelines and eligibility rules for sealing.
- Requires circuit courts to provide juvenile disposition information to State Police and allows the State Police to identify missing juvenile data.
County Impacts and Challenges
The Act supports second-chance opportunities, but counties — particularly circuit clerks and criminal justice partners — will likely face several challenges:
- Increased administrative workload due to the need to correct historical case data and respond to State Police notices about missing or inaccurate records.
- Technology updates to implement automatic sealing processes and ensure data-system compatibility, which may strain counties with older systems.
- Staffing and training burdens to handle new workflows, petition processing, and revised eligibility standards.
- Backlog risk as clerks manage both automatic sealing and traditional petitions alongside existing duties.
- Need for inter-agency coordination among courts, prosecutors, defenders, and law enforcement to ensure accurate, timely record reporting.
- Potential unfunded mandates, as the Act does not appear to include dedicated funding for counties to manage technology upgrades, staffing, and training.
Bottom Line
The bill modernizes Illinois’ criminal-record process by improving data accuracy and expanding access to sealing, including automatic sealing for certain cases. However, it may create new workload, technology, coordination, and fiscal pressures for county governments tasked with implementing these reforms.