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Collaboration brings Adult and Juvenile Expungement Summit to Harvey

Honorable Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, the Southland Regional Mayoral Black Caucus, Thornton Township High School District 205, Honorable Amy Campanelli, Cook County Public Defender; and an array of judicial, governmental, legal, community and religious organizations and agencies, will present the 12th Annual Second Chance Adult and Juvenile Expungement Summit and Ex-Offender Job Information Seminar at Thornton Township High School, 15001 Broadway Ave., Harvey IL, on Saturday, June 4, 2016; registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and doors close at 6:00 p.m.

“This is an opportunity for individuals who qualify to expunge their court records; a second chance for them to be law-abiding, productive members of society,” said Clerk Brown. “We are attempting to remove as many impediments as possible for people who are attempting to better themselves and their families’ quality of life.”

For the past 11 years, the extremely successful, full-service, community-based Expungement Summits have attracted 2,500 to 3,000 people each year. Summit attendees are seeking to improve their ability to obtain employment and other opportunities by having expungeable offenses removed from their criminal histories.

At the summit, volunteer attorneys help prepare applications for the filing of petitions that qualify for expungement and sealing. Representatives from the Cook County Public Defender and Cabrini Green Legal Aid also assist attendees with legal concerns. The Illinois State Police holds informational sessions on their expungement petition review process. Additional presentations are made by representatives of the State Appellate Defender and the Illinois Attorney General.

Individuals who do not qualify for expungement may attend a panel discussion conducted by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board to learn about Certificates of Good Conduct and Relief from Disabilities, as well as how to prepare letters for clemency and/or pardons from the governor.

A host of other agencies provide information on employment, job training, health care, housing, voter registration and other services for ex-offenders. The Summit’s Ex-Offender Job

Information Seminar features workshops how to get educational training, resume writing, interviewing and computer skill building. The Summit also provides a list of local and nationwide companies that hire ex-offenders.

To have a petition filed on site, the petitioner must bring a Rap Sheet (Criminal History). This year, the Clerk’s Office had a special offer from Accurate Biometrics, a Live Scan Fingerprinting & Identity Services company, which provided Summit attendees with their Illinois Criminal Histories prior to the Summit at a discounted rate of $25 (normally $40). Interested persons had to bring a specially marked application to any one of Accurate Biometrics’ eight Cook County locations by May 24, to receive their reports in time for the Expungement Summit. Accurate Biometrics will also provide FREE fingerprint scanning at the Expungement Summit.

In addition, for suburban cases, individuals may obtain their criminal case(s) information from the local police agency where they were arrested by requesting a Right to Access and Review. Contact the local police agency for more details. For Chicago cases, individuals may obtain their Rap Sheets from Chicago Police Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan.

There are filing fees associated with expungement and sealing, which may include $120 per petition for Adult Expungement/Sealing ($60 for the Clerk’s Office and $60 for the Illinois State Police (ISP)), $9 per certified disposition (adult cases) and $124 per petition for Juvenile Expungement (includes ISP fee).

For additional information about the 2016 Expungement Summit, call (312) 603-5200 or (312) 603-4641; or visit the Clerk’s Office web site at www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org. Expungement Summit updates are also posted on Facebook.com/Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County and Clerk of the Circuit Court Expungement Summit.

The Expungement Summit is sponsored by Clerk Brown, along with the Southland Regional Mayoral Black Caucus; Thornton Township High School District 205, Honorable Amy Campanelli, Cook County Public Defender; Baptist Ministers Conference of Chicago & Vicinity; Black Women Lawyers’ Association; Cabrini Green Legal Clinic; CAPS; Chicago Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; Chicago Police Department; Chicago Public Schools; Cook County Bar Association; Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois; Illinois Attorney General’s Office; Illinois Department of Employment Security; Illinois Department of Healthcare & Family Services; Illinois Prisoner Review Board; Illinois State Appellate Defender; Illinois State Police; Journey to Empowerment; NAACP; Pastors United for Change; Safer Foundation; South Suburban Bar Association; Southland Ministerial Health Network; and the Westside Ministers Coalition.

 

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