When a judge signs an order to expunge or seal a record, the Clerk of the Circuit Court removes all related records from the system, including those accessible to the public, ensuring they do not appear on background checks. Searching the Clerk’s system will yield no results, effectively erasing any trace of the case. Physical files are kept by the Clerk and can only be accessed through a court order.
Expunged records are destroyed by the arresting agency and the Illinois State Police. However, law enforcement retains access to expunged cases that involved qualified probation.
Sealed records are maintained by the Illinois State Police and remain accessible to law enforcement. Only sealed felony conviction records are available to specific employers authorized by law to conduct fingerprint-based background checks through the Illinois State Police.
