"Pray you now, forget and forgive."
--William shakespeare--
"I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice."
--Abraham Lincoln--
"We can draw lessons from the past, but we can not live in it."
--LBJ--
Thousands of people with felony convictions live in Cook, Will, Kane, and Dupage counties, which make up the Chicago Metropolitan area. Many of these people have convictions from something as low level as a single drug possession or as the result of multiple DUI convictions or something as serious as armed robbery or even murder. A felony conviction on a person's record can be a huge impediment to employment opportunities. The good news for felons is that for some of them a new slate is available. The bad news is for most it is a nearly impossible task.
There is a difference between getting a criminal record expunged as opposed to sealed. Expungement is the destruction or removal of the record from the file, whereas when the criminal record is sealed it stays within the system but most people, including most employers, have no access to it.
People that have been arrested (accused) of a crime but who were found not guilty, regardless of the felony, may petition to have his/her arrest record expunged. Many misdemeanor convictions can be expunged under certain circumstances, with the notable exception of a DUI and some sexual offenses. A few felony convictions can also be expunged under the right circumstances. A class 4 drug possession felony or class 4 prostitution conviction can be expunged under the right circumstances.
Felons who do not fit within those categories may also petition the Governor's Office for a pardon that explicitly calls for the expungement of that conviction. if the petition is approved then the conviction can be expunged. In all of the cases it may be best to explore hiring a lawyer to get help preparing the paperwork, but the process can be done without a lawyer. As stated by Alexander Pope, "to err is human; to forgive divine." There is a process for a sort of "legal" forgiveness for felons, it just takes time, money, and patience to achieve it.
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