Honorable Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Cicero Town President Larry Dominick, Cicero Public School District 99, Honorable Amy Campanelli, Cook County Public Defender, and an array of judicial, governmental, legal, community and religious organizations and agencies, will present the 13th Annual Second Chance Adult and Juvenile Expungement Summit and Job Information Seminar at Unity Junior High School, 2115 S. 54th Ave., Cicero, IL, on Saturday, June 10, 2017; 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 12 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 Second Chance Job Information Seminar features workshops on 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). For Chicago cases, individuals may obtain their rap sheets from Chicago Police Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan. The cost is $16 for adult cases, and there is NO CHARGE for RAP sheets of juvenile cases. 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.
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). There is no longer a filing fee per petition for Juvenile Expungement.
For additional information about the 2017 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 Cicero Town President Larry Dominick, Cicero Public School District 99, Honorable Amy Campanelli, Cook County Public Defender; Unity Junior High School Principal Donata A. Heppner; 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 Prisoner Review Board; Illinois State Appellate Defender; Illinois Department of Healthcare & Family Services; Illinois State Police; Journey to Empowerment; NAACP; Pastors United for Change; Safer Foundation; and Westside Ministers Coalition.