HB0048 Summary: Expungement for Suspended License Violations

• Requires Illinois State Police and all law enforcement agencies to automatically expunge criminal records for arrests or charges related to driving with a suspended license for failure to pay support or comply with visitation orders (Section 6-303 of Illinois Vehicle Code) committed before January 1, 2019, if one year has elapsed and charges were dismissed, vacated, or resulted in acquittal.

• Establishes expungement timelines: records created between January 1, 2013 and the bill's effective date must be expunged by January 1, 2021; pre-2013 records by January 1, 2023; and records before 2000 by January 1, 2025.

• Allows individuals to petition courts to vacate and expunge these suspended license convictions, with courts considering factors such as law enforcement's retention reasons, petitioner's age, time since conviction, and adverse consequences of denial.

• Permits State's Attorneys to file motions to vacate and expunge qualifying suspended license convictions in the public interest, with notification to the Prisoner Review Board within 30 days.

• Authorizes the Prisoner Review Board to recommend pardons to the Governor for automatic expungement of qualifying records, with courts required to enter expungement orders within 90 days of pardons being granted.