Illinois law allows you to expunge certain felonies from your record. If your case doesn’t qualify for expungement, you may be able to seal it as most felonies and misdemeanors are eligible for sealing.  The law is the same regardless of which county your case concluded. When you expunge your record, it gets destroyed. When you seal a record, it gets hidden from the public, landlords, and almost all employers. You can expunge your felony record in Illinois if you were sentenced to TASC Probation, 410/710/1410 Probation, Second Chance Probation, or received a Governor’s Pardon. For the purposes of expungement, these types of probation are referred to as “Qualified Probation.”  They all allow you to finish your case without a conviction. The waiting period is five years after completing your probation before you can file for Expungement.  In almost all cases, there will be a Court hearing where you have to prove to the judge that you are a good c...

Drug and TASC probation is a special kind of probation because the law allows you to avoid a criminal conviction and eventually expunge your arrest record. It is one of the few ways to avoid going to jail and avoiding a permanent criminal conviction. Under “regular” probation, a felony conviction stays on your record forever unless the Governor issues a pardon – not very common.  Understanding the differences between drug, TASC and regular probation is important because it can mean the difference between having a clean record or being permanently labeled a convicted felon. A further distinction is also necessary between drug probation and TASC probation.  For drug probation, you have been charged with possessing illegal drugs.  For TASC probation, the charge does not have to be drug-related, but rather, have to elect to be treated as a person with a drug problem.   For example, if you are ...