Full Text of SJR0079 98th General Assembly
SJ0079 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Tens of thousands of youth who are arrested | 3 | | throughout this State each year are never
subject to any formal | 4 | | proceedings in juvenile court; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Most juvenile arrests are reported by local law | 6 | | enforcement to the Illinois State Police, which
is currently | 7 | | required to maintain juvenile arrest records regardless of | 8 | | whether a petition of
delinquency is filed in juvenile court; | 9 | | and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Despite the presumption in the Illinois Juvenile | 11 | | Court Act that most juvenile records are
confidential, juvenile | 12 | | arrest records are sometimes disclosed or disseminated, often | 13 | | unintentionally,
preventing youth who have never been | 14 | | adjudicated delinquent for any offense from moving forward
with | 15 | | educational and employment plans; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The process of expunging juvenile arrests that do | 17 | | not result in formal proceedings is currently
complicated, | 18 | | burdensome, and underused by juvenile arrestees; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Increased use of electronic recordkeeping by | 20 | | city, county, State, and federal agencies has
compounded the | 21 | | number of ways in which confidential juvenile arrest and court |
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| 1 | | records may be
inadvertently disseminated, regardless of | 2 | | expungement; therefore, be it
| 3 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 4 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 5 | | CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Juvenile Justice | 6 | | Commission is requested to study and make recommendations to | 7 | | the Governor and General Assembly regarding
effective policy | 8 | | and practice concerning juvenile record confidentiality and | 9 | | expungement; and be it further | 10 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission is | 11 | | requested to analyze the sufficiency of juvenile
| 12 | | confidentiality and expungement laws and processes, including | 13 | | but not limited to the methods by which
juvenile records are | 14 | | created and shared and the use and effectiveness of juvenile | 15 | | petitions for
expungement; and be it further | 16 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois State Police and the Illinois | 17 | | Criminal Justice Information Authority are requested to | 18 | | cooperate with the study by sharing agency data and process | 19 | | information, as well as by reviewing their
own policies | 20 | | concerning juvenile record confidentiality; and be it further | 21 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission is | 22 | | requested to summarize available information and
research on |
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| 1 | | best practices within the State and across the nation with | 2 | | respect to juvenile record
confidentiality, law enforcement | 3 | | recordkeeping, and expungement, including but not limited to | 4 | | the
following: | 5 | | 1) The creation, storage, and exchange of juvenile records | 6 | | in the digital age; | 7 | | 2) The effect of private background check industry growth, | 8 | | including internet-based
arrest publishing and removal | 9 | | companies, on juvenile records confidentiality and
| 10 | | expungement; | 11 | | 3) The relationship between confidentiality and | 12 | | expungement and public safety; and | 13 | | 4) The impact of expungement on the lives and wellbeing of | 14 | | youth; and be it further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That local law enforcement, county clerks, | 16 | | judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, school
officials, | 17 | | probation offices, diversion program providers, background | 18 | | check providers, and prospective
employers and other end-users | 19 | | of background information are encouraged to participate in this | 20 | | study as
well as to review their own policies concerning | 21 | | juvenile record confidentiality; and be it further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission is | 2 | | requested to submit the report by March 1, 2016 and to
catalog | 3 | | the progress of expungement again on March 1, 2017 to the | 4 | | Governor and General Assembly
with its recommendations and | 5 | | suggested statutory changes; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution shall be presented | 7 | | to the Director of the Administrative Office
of the Illinois | 8 | | Courts, the Executive Director of the Office of the State's | 9 | | Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor,
the Office of the State | 10 | | Appellate Defender, the President of the Illinois Sheriff's | 11 | | Association, and the
Executive Director of the Illinois | 12 | | Juvenile Justice Commission who are each encouraged to share | 13 | | this
resolution with their membership.
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