Illinois law changed on January 1, 2017 wherein a person seeking expungment may now do so even if they have a prior conviction. Most importantly a person who has been previously been convicted are now able to file a petition to expunge. Prior to January 1, 2017 there was a blanket ban on those with prior convictions. The statutory citation is: 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(b)(1) et seq. Procedurally this is a huge win for persons seeking expungement. Typically, when doing research on a client's criminal history for those seeking expungment it was common to have an objection filed by the States Attorney or Attorney General that expungment could not be allowed due to a prior conviction.
This change in expungement law practically opens the door to many persons who would not have been able to do so in the past. I anticiapte the number of petitioners seeking relief will snowball. I wish anyone seeking this relief the best of luck. I also encourage all petitioners to seek the assistance of legal counsel to assist them in this regard.