(730 ILCS 5/Ch. V Art. 5.5 heading) ARTICLE 5.5.
DISCRETIONARY RELIEF FROM FORFEITURES
AND DISABILITIES AUTOMATICALLY IMPOSED BY LAW
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(730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-5) Sec. 5-5.5-5. Definition. In this Article, "eligible offender" means a person who has been convicted of a crime in this State or of an offense in any other jurisdiction that does not include any offense or attempted offense that would subject a person to registration under the Sex Offender Registration Act, Arsonist Registry Act, or the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registration Act. "Eligible offender" does not include a person who has been convicted of arson, aggravated arson, kidnapping, aggravated kidnaping, aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, other drug or drugs, or intoxicating compound or compounds, or any combination thereof, or aggravated domestic battery. (Source: P.A. 103-609, eff. 7-1-24.) |
(730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-10)
Sec. 5-5.5-10.
Certificate of relief from disabilities.
(a) A certificate of relief from disabilities does not, however, in
any way prevent any judicial proceeding, administrative, licensing, or other
body,
board, or authority from relying upon the conviction specified in the
certificate as the basis for the exercise of its discretionary power to
suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue or refuse to renew any license, permit,
or other authority or privilege.
(b) A certificate of relief from disabilities shall not limit or prevent the
introduction of evidence of a prior conviction for purposes of impeachment of a
witness in a judicial or other proceeding where otherwise authorized by the
applicable rules of evidence.
(Source: P.A. 93-207, eff. 1-1-04.)
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(730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-15)
Sec. 5-5.5-15. Certificates of relief from disabilities issued by courts.
(a) Any circuit court of this State may issue a
certificate of
relief from disabilities to an eligible offender for a conviction that
occurred in that court if the court imposed the sentence. The certificate may be issued (i) at the time
sentence is pronounced, in which case it may grant relief from
disabilities, or (ii) at any time
thereafter, in which case it shall apply only to disabilities.
(b) The certificate may not be issued by the court unless the court
is satisfied, based on clear and convincing evidence, that:
(1) the person to whom it is to be granted is an | ||
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(2) the relief to be granted by the certificate is | ||
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(3) the relief to be granted by the certificate is | ||
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(c) If a certificate of relief from disabilities is not issued at
the time sentence is pronounced it shall only be issued thereafter upon
verified application to the court. The court may, for the purpose of
determining whether the certificate shall be issued, request the
probation or court services department to conduct an investigation of the
applicant. Any probation officer
requested to make an investigation under this Section shall
prepare and submit to the court a written report in accordance with the
request.
(d) Any court that has issued a certificate of relief from disabilities
may at any time issue a new certificate to enlarge the relief previously
granted provided that the provisions of clauses (1)
through (3) of subsection (b) of this Section apply to the issuance of
any such new certificate.
(e) Any written report submitted to the court under this Section
is confidential and may not be made available to any person or public or
private agency except if specifically required or permitted by
statute or upon specific authorization of the court. However, it shall
be made available by the court for examination by the applicant's
attorney, or the applicant himself or herself, if he or she has no attorney. In
its discretion, the court may except from disclosure a part or parts of the
report that are not relevant to the granting of a certificate, or
sources of information which have been obtained on a promise of
confidentiality, or any other portion of the report, disclosure of which
would not be in the interest of justice. The action of the court excepting
information from disclosure shall be subject to appellate review. The
court, in its discretion, may hold a conference in open court or in
chambers to afford an applicant an opportunity to controvert or to
comment upon any portions of the report. The court may also conduct a
summary hearing at the conference on any matter relevant to the granting
of the application and may take testimony under oath.
As used in this subsection, "confidential" has the same meaning as in paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of Section 5 of the Court Record and Document Accessibility Act. (f) An employer is not civilly or criminally liable for an act or omission by an employee who has been issued a certificate of relief from disabilities, except for a willful or wanton act by the employer in hiring the employee who has been issued a certificate of relief from disabilities. (Source: P.A. 103-166, eff. 1-1-24 .)
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(730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-20)
Sec. 5-5.5-20. (Repealed).
(Source: P.A. 93-207, eff. 1-1-04. Repealed by P.A. 96-852, eff. 1-1-10.)
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(730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-25)
Sec. 5-5.5-25. Certificate of good conduct.
(a) A certificate of good conduct may be granted as provided in this Section to relieve an eligible offender of any employment, occupational licensing, or housing bar. The certificate may be limited to one or more disabilities or bars or may relieve the individual of all disabilities and bars. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a certificate of good conduct does not relieve an offender of any employment-related disability imposed by law by reason of his or her conviction of a crime that would prevent his or her employment by the Department of Corrections, Department of Juvenile Justice, or any other law enforcement agency in the State.
(a-6)
A certificate of good conduct may be granted as provided in this
Section to an eligible offender as defined in Section 5-5.5-5 of this Code
who has demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence that he or she has been a law-abiding citizen and is fully
rehabilitated.
(b)(i) A certificate of good conduct may not, however, in any
way prevent any judicial proceeding, administrative, licensing, or other body,
board, or authority from considering the conviction specified
in the certificate.
(ii) A certificate of good conduct shall not limit or prevent the
introduction of evidence of a prior conviction for purposes of impeachment of
a witness in a judicial or other proceeding where otherwise authorized by the
applicable rules of evidence.
(iii) A certificate of good conduct does not limit any employer, landlord, judicial proceeding, administrative, licensing, or other body, board, or authority from accessing criminal background information; nor does it hide, alter, or expunge the record. (c) An employer is not civilly or criminally liable for an act or omission by an employee who has been issued a certificate of good conduct, except for a willful or wanton act by the employer in hiring the employee who has been issued a certificate of good conduct. (d) The existence of a certificate of good conduct does not preclude a landlord or an administrative, licensing, or other body, board, or authority from retaining full discretion to grant or deny the application for housing or licensure. (Source: P.A. 101-154, eff. 1-1-20 .)
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(730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-30)
Sec. 5-5.5-30. Issuance of certificate of good conduct.
(a) After a rehabilitation review has been held, in a manner designated by the chief judge of the judicial circuit in which the conviction was entered, the Circuit Court of that judicial circuit
shall have the power to issue a certificate of good
conduct to any eligible offender previously convicted of a crime in this State,
and shall make a specific finding of rehabilitation with the force and effect of a final judgment on the merits, when
the Court is satisfied that:
(1) the applicant has conducted himself or herself in | ||
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(2) the relief to be granted by the certificate is | ||
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(3) the relief to be granted is consistent with the | ||
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(b) The Circuit Court shall have the power to issue a certificate of good
conduct to any person previously convicted of a crime in any other
jurisdiction, when the Court is satisfied that: (1) the applicant has demonstrated that there exist | ||
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(2) the provisions of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of | ||
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(c) The minimum period of good conduct by the individual referred to
in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Section, shall be as follows:
if the most serious crime of which the individual was convicted is a
misdemeanor, the minimum period of good conduct shall be one year; if
the most serious crime of which the individual was convicted is a felony, the minimum period of good conduct shall be 2 years.
Criminal acts committed outside the State
shall be classified as acts committed within the State based on the
maximum sentence that could have been imposed based upon the
conviction under the laws of the foreign jurisdiction. The minimum
period of good conduct by the individual shall be measured either from
the date of the payment of any fine imposed upon him or her, or from the
date of his or her release from custody by parole, mandatory supervised
release or commutation or termination of his or her sentence.
The Circuit Court shall have power and it shall be its duty to investigate all
persons when the application is made and to grant or deny the same
within a reasonable time after the making of the application.
(d) If the Circuit Court has issued a certificate of good
conduct, the Court may at any time issue a new certificate enlarging the
relief previously granted.
(e) Any certificate of good conduct issued by the Court to
an individual who at the time of the issuance of the certificate is under the
conditions of parole or mandatory supervised release imposed by the
Prisoner Review Board shall be deemed to be a temporary certificate until the time as the
individual is discharged from the terms of parole or mandatory
supervised release, and, while temporary, the certificate may be
revoked by the Court for violation of the conditions of parole or
mandatory supervised release. Revocation shall be upon
notice to the parolee or releasee, who shall be accorded an opportunity to
explain the violation prior to a decision on the revocation. If the certificate
is not so revoked, it shall become a permanent certificate upon expiration
or termination of the offender's parole or mandatory supervised release term. (f) The Court shall, upon notice to a certificate holder, have the power to revoke a certificate of good conduct upon a subsequent conviction.
(Source: P.A. 99-381, eff. 1-1-16 .)
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(730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-35)
Sec. 5-5.5-35. Effect of revocation; use of revoked certificate.
(a) If a certificate of relief from disabilities is deemed to
be temporary and the certificate is revoked, disabilities and
forfeitures thereby relieved shall be reinstated as of the date
upon which the person to whom the certificate was issued receives
written notice of the revocation. Any such person shall upon
receipt of the notice surrender the certificate to the issuing
court.
(b) A person who knowingly uses or attempts to use a revoked
certificate of relief from disabilities in order to obtain or to
exercise any right or privilege that he or she would not be entitled to
obtain or to exercise without a valid certificate is guilty
of a Class A misdemeanor.
(Source: P.A. 96-852, eff. 1-1-10.)
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(730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-40)
Sec. 5-5.5-40. Forms and filing.
(a) All applications, certificates, and orders of
revocation necessary for the purposes of this Article shall be upon forms
prescribed by the
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or his or her designee. The forms
relating to certificates of relief from disabilities and certificates of good conduct shall be distributed by
the Director of the Division of Probation Services.
(b) Any court or board issuing or revoking any certificate under
this Article shall immediately file a copy of the certificate or of the
order of revocation with the Director of the Illinois State Police.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
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(730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-45)
Sec. 5-5.5-45.
Certificate not to be deemed to be a pardon.
Nothing contained in this Article shall be deemed to alter or
limit or affect the manner of applying for pardons to the
Governor, and no certificate issued under this Article shall be deemed or
construed to be a pardon.
(Source: P.A. 93-207, eff. 1-1-04.)
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(730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-50)
Sec. 5-5.5-50.
Report.
The Department of Professional Regulation
shall report to the General
Assembly by November 30 of each year, for each occupational licensure category,
the number of licensure applicants with felony convictions, the number of
applicants with certificates of relief from disabilities, the number of
licenses awarded
to applicants with felony convictions, the number of licenses awarded to
applicants with certificates of relief from disabilities, the number of
applicants with
felony convictions denied licenses, and the number of applicants with
certificates of relief from disabilities denied licenses.
(Source: P.A. 93-207, eff. 1-1-04.)
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