Bill > SB1955

This bill amends several Illinois statutes to modify terminology and procedures related to court records and document accessibility, with a focus on clarifying and standardizing terms like "impound," "seal," and "expunge" across different legal contexts. Specifically, the bill changes definitions in the Criminal Identification Act, the Court Record and Document Accessibility Act, and the Code of Civil Procedure to ensure consistent usage of these terms. In the Criminal Identification Act, the bill revises definitions of "expunge" and "seal" to provide more precise explanations of how records can be treated, including specifying that expungement may involve physically destroying records, returning them to the petitioner, or obliterating the petitioner's name from official indices. For eviction court files, the bill replaces the term "seal" with "impound" and allows parties to agree to impound a file. The bill also updates how circuit court clerks handle record accessibility, ensuring that terms like "impounded" and "sealed" have clear, consistent meanings across different legal processes. These changes aim to provide more clarity and standardization in how criminal and court records are managed and accessed.

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https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=1955&GAID=18&DocTypeID=SB&SessionID=114&GA=104