Clear your Illinois record.

You file a petition with the clerk of the court where you were arrested or charged. The clerk sends it to the State's Attorney, the Illinois State Police and the agency that arrested you. A local ordinance case also goes to the local government's chief legal officer. Each has 60 days to object. If no one objects, the court rules on the petition. If someone objects, the court holds a hearing.

The law lists the cases that cannot be sealed or expunged. A completed supervision can be expunged after two years. Supervisions the law lists wait five years. A completed qualified probation waits five years. A case that ended in acquittal, dismissal or no charge can be sealed at any time. So can a reversed conviction. Other records wait two years after your last sentence ends. A felony waits three years. A felony has no wait if you earned a diploma, degree or certificate while serving your sentence. A GED counts too.

Starting January 1, 2029, the State Police will seal the records that qualify on its own, with no petition, if the state funds the work. You can still file one. Minor cannabis offenses have their own doors under 20 ILCS 2630/5.2. Police expunge arrest records from before June 25, 2019 on their own. You can also ask the court to vacate and expunge a conviction under the Cannabis Control Act. This covers a misdemeanor or a Class 4 felony.