I want all of you to know that I am passionately committed to the success and development of ALL young people. I believe that we need to invest ON THE FRONT END to ensure that all youth have an opportunity to thrive.

We know however that not all young people are provided with the resources to succeed and some end up caught up in the criminal legal system. If you are a regular reader of this blog, I write about this often.

by Billy Dee

Today, I am asking you to help support a bill that I am passionate about and that I am working very hard to see pass in our legislature in IL. It is called the ‘Clear Up Juvenile Records” act. Here is what we are asking for and I am asking that if you live in IL, you sign this petition to support our efforts:

We the undersigned, demand a simple and inexpensive expungement process to ensure juvenile records are cleared.

The current expungement process is so complicated and expensive that according to the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Chicago Police arrested 18,287 youth under 17 years old in 2009 and only 437 juvenile records were expunged. The majority of these arrests are for minor offenses.

The failure to automatically clear these arrest records and the difficult process to obtain an expungement holds back youth in their transition to college, in applying for the military, and in seeking employment.

Specifically, we demand:

1.) That no local law enforcement agencies can forward juvenile records to the State Police.

2.) That an individual can petition the court to expunge their juvenile record anytime, for any reason.

Example: A record will be able to be eligible to be expunged if a youth is arrested but the petition is dismissed OR if a petition is never filed

3.) That a juvenile record is automatically expunged if a person is 18 years old and has had two years without an arrest. Law enforcement agencies would be responsible for expunging these records.

4.) To explicitly state the Illinois Human Rights Act to include civil rights violation if employers ask about expunged juvenile records

We encourage Illinois legislators and policy makers to address this critical issue to ensure our youth can successfully move forward in life.

To learn more about juvenile expungement of criminal records, visit the UN-marked Campaign Blog.

UPDATE:
Unfortunately, today (3/3/11) the House Jud II cmte voted against both HB 2841, the juvenile expungement reform bill, and against HB 85, the counsel for youth during interrogation for murder bill. Both votes were 2-5, with only Reps Connie Howard and Annazette Collins voting for the bills. Democratic Reps. Cunningham and McAsey both voted no on both bills. Republican reps Reboletti, Reis and Sacia also voted no on both bills. It is really important to get the word out to folks to let the legislators who opposed these bills know that folks are watching their votes and concerned that bills advancing rights for youth are not moving forward.