Bill to expunge records a good idea

The people of Illinois State Representative Constance "Connie" Howard�s district have sent her back to Springfield, the state�s capital, for four terms. Her recent effort to pass legislation that would expunge some records of people who have made mistakes and have gotten into trouble with the law demonstrates why.

The Illinois House recently passed a watered down version of her legislation. House Bill 300 will allow for records of people charged with a crime but never convicted to be expunged. Also, court and arrest records of a person charged will be sealed if the conviction or sentence was overturned.

State Rep. Howard wanted a wider range of cases included in those that would be considered for the process. For example, she wanted records expunged in cases where a conviction is reversed due to innocence; some misdemeanors after the sentence has been completed; and some minor felonies after sentence has been completed, among others.

Of course, there were other stipulations she would require, such as a waiting period in some cases before becoming eligible for the process.

Recognizing the difficulties presented to those with meager resources and those not knowledgeable of their rights and options, Rep. Howard wanted the process to begin automatically in all cases. This would take the burden off the individual.

But she also knew that her colleagues weren�t ready for the bigger picture. She says many of her colleagues are not ready to expunge records where there has been a conviction. So she curtailed her vision, for now. The present bill passed by a vote of 115-1.

Also to her credit and a testimony of her desire to really help people, Rep. Howard�s bill includes establishing a program in the Illinois Public Defender�s Office that will assist people who are seeking to get their record expunged. It will allow people to learn if their offense can be expunged and how to go about doing it. If the person prefers hands-on assistance, the program will offer legal assistance from volunteer attorneys.

There are people in this society who have violated the law, but are not real criminals. They just made a mistake from which they learned a very important lesson. However, the criminal justice system does not provide for a soft landing for them. It provides a hard landing that too often leads to missed opportunities to lead normal, productive lives. The criminal records of these people, some of whom have not even been convicted, follow them around for the rest of their lives. They are impacted because they are frozen out of job opportunities or can�t adopt children, for example.

Rep. Howard�s bill now faces a challenge of passing the Illinois Senate and then on to Republican Governor George Ryan for signature. Gov. Ryan already has set a standard when he established a moratorium on the death penalty in the state. If this legislation reaches his desk, he should set another standard by signing it.

We call on the Illinois Senate to send the legislation to the governor posthaste.

FinalCall.com