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1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 79 | ||||||
2 | (As Amended by Senate Amendment No. 1)
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3 | WHEREAS, Tens of thousands of youth who are arrested | ||||||
4 | throughout this State each year are never
subject to any formal | ||||||
5 | proceedings in juvenile court; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Most juvenile arrests are reported by local law | ||||||
7 | enforcement to the Illinois State Police, which
is currently | ||||||
8 | required to maintain juvenile arrest records regardless of | ||||||
9 | whether a petition of
delinquency is filed in juvenile court; | ||||||
10 | and
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11 | WHEREAS, Despite the presumption in the Illinois Juvenile | ||||||
12 | Court Act that most juvenile records are
confidential, juvenile | ||||||
13 | arrest records are sometimes disclosed or disseminated, often | ||||||
14 | unintentionally,
preventing youth who have never been | ||||||
15 | adjudicated delinquent for any offense from moving forward
with | ||||||
16 | educational and employment plans; and
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17 | WHEREAS, The process of expunging juvenile arrests that do | ||||||
18 | not result in formal proceedings is currently
complicated, | ||||||
19 | burdensome, and underused by juvenile arrestees; and
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20 | WHEREAS, Increased use of electronic recordkeeping by | ||||||
21 | city, county, State, and federal agencies has
compounded the |
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1 | number of ways in which confidential juvenile arrest and court | ||||||
2 | records may be
inadvertently disseminated, regardless of | ||||||
3 | expungement; therefore, be it
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4 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | ||||||
5 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | ||||||
6 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Juvenile Justice | ||||||
7 | Commission is requested to study and make recommendations to | ||||||
8 | the Governor and General Assembly regarding
effective policy | ||||||
9 | and practice concerning juvenile record confidentiality and | ||||||
10 | expungement; and be it further | ||||||
11 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission is | ||||||
12 | requested to analyze the sufficiency of juvenile
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13 | confidentiality and expungement laws and processes, including | ||||||
14 | but not limited to the methods by which
juvenile records are | ||||||
15 | created and shared and the use and effectiveness of juvenile | ||||||
16 | petitions for
expungement; and be it further | ||||||
17 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois State Police and the Illinois | ||||||
18 | Criminal Justice Information Authority are requested to | ||||||
19 | cooperate with the study by sharing agency data and process | ||||||
20 | information, as well as by reviewing their
own policies | ||||||
21 | concerning juvenile record confidentiality; and be it further | ||||||
22 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission is |
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1 | requested to summarize available information and
research on | ||||||
2 | best practices within the State and across the nation with | ||||||
3 | respect to juvenile record
confidentiality, law enforcement | ||||||
4 | recordkeeping, and expungement, including but not limited to | ||||||
5 | the
following: | ||||||
6 | 1) The creation, storage, and exchange of juvenile records | ||||||
7 | in the digital age; | ||||||
8 | 2) The confidentiality of all records to actual or alleged | ||||||
9 | violations of traffic, boating, or fish and game laws, or | ||||||
10 | municipal or county ordinances by minors under 18 years of age; | ||||||
11 | 3) The effect of private background check industry growth, | ||||||
12 | including internet-based
arrest publishing and removal | ||||||
13 | companies, on juvenile records confidentiality and
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14 | expungement; | ||||||
15 | 4) The relationship between confidentiality and | ||||||
16 | expungement and public safety; and | ||||||
17 | 5) The impact of expungement on the lives and wellbeing of | ||||||
18 | youth; and be it further | ||||||
19 | RESOLVED, That local law enforcement, county clerks, | ||||||
20 | judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, school
officials, |
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1 | probation offices, diversion program providers, background | ||||||
2 | check providers, and prospective
employers and other end-users | ||||||
3 | of background information are encouraged to participate in this | ||||||
4 | study as
well as to review their own policies concerning | ||||||
5 | juvenile record confidentiality; and be it further | ||||||
6 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission is | ||||||
7 | requested to submit the report by March 1, 2016 and to
catalog | ||||||
8 | the progress of expungement again on March 1, 2017 to the | ||||||
9 | Governor and General Assembly
with its recommendations and | ||||||
10 | suggested statutory changes; and be it further
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11 | RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution shall be presented | ||||||
12 | to the Director of the Administrative Office
of the Illinois | ||||||
13 | Courts, the Executive Director of the Office of the State's | ||||||
14 | Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor,
the Office of the State | ||||||
15 | Appellate Defender, the President of the Illinois Sheriffs' | ||||||
16 | Association, and the
Executive Director of the Illinois | ||||||
17 | Juvenile Justice Commission, who are each encouraged to share | ||||||
18 | this
resolution with their membership.
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