Adult and Juvenile Expungement Summit 2011

The Honorable Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County; the Honorable Anita Alvarez, State’s Attorney of Cook County; the Honorable Abishi C. Cunningham, Cook County Public Defender, the Honorable Thomas J. Dart, Cook County Sheriff; Dr. Byron Brazier, Pastor of Apostolic Church of God, NBC 5 Chicago, and an array of governmental, legal, community and religious organizations and agencies, will sponsor an Adult and Juvenile Expungement Summit at Apostolic Church of God, 6320 S. Dorchester Ave.,  Chicago, IL, on Saturday, June 2, 2011; registration begins at 8:30 a.m.  This full-service, community-based Expungement Summit has been extremely successful for the last seven years, attracting each year 2,500 to 4,000 people who sought to improve their ability to obtain employment by having expungeable offenses removed from their criminal histories.  This is the second year, the Expungement Summit is being held at Apostolic Church of God.  Previous summits were held at Eisenhower High School, Austin High School, DuSable High School, Chicago Vocational Career Academy, and twice at Roberto Clemente Community Academy. At the summit, volunteer attorneys assist participants with the preparation of applications for the filing of petitions that qualify for expungement and sealing. The State’s Attorney, Chicago Police Department and Illinois State Police hold information sessions on their expungement petition review process Individuals who do not qualify for expungement may attend a panel discussion conducted by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board to learn about Certificates of Good Conduct and Relief from Disabilities, as well as how to prepare letters for clemency and/or pardons from the governor. Other agencies will provide information on employment, job training, health care, housing, voter’s registration and other services for ex-offenders. The Illinois Department of Employment Security will hold an information session on job placement for ex-offenders. “This is an opportunity for individuals to expunge their court records; a second chance for them to be law-abiding, productive members of society,” said Clerk Brown. “We are attempting to remove as many impediments as possible for people who are attempting to better themselves and their quality of life.” To have a petition filed on site, the petitioner must bring a rap sheet (criminal history). For suburban cases, individuals may obtain their criminal case(s) information from the local police agency where they were arrested by requesting a Right to Access and Review. Contact the local police agency for more details. For Chicago cases, individuals may obtain their rap sheets from Chicago Police Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan, no later than May 25, 2012t. The fee is $16.00.  For more information call 312-745-5508. There are filing fees associated with expungement and sealing, which may include $120 per petition for Adult Expungement/Sealing ($60 for the Clerk's Office and $60 for the Illinois State Police), $9 per certified disposition (adult cases) and $64 per petition for  Juvenile Expungement. For additional information about the 2010 Expungement Summit, please call (312) 603-5200 or visit the Clerk’s Office web site at www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org. The Expungement Summit is being sponsored by: the Honorable Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County; Honorable Anita Alvarez, State’s Attorney of Cook County; Honorable Abishi Cunningham, Cook County Public Defender; Dr. Bryon Brazier, Pastor, Apostolic Church of God; NBC 5 Chicago, Baptist Ministers Conference of Chicago & Vicinity; Black Women Lawyers’ Association; Cabrini Green Legal Aid; Chicago Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.;  CAPS; Chicago Police Department; Chicago Public Schools; Cook County Bar Association; Hispanic Lawyers Assoc. of Illinois; Illinois Department of Employment Security; Office of the State Appellate Defender; Illinois Attorney General; Illinois State Police;  Journey to Empowerment; NAACP; Pastors United for Change; Prisoner Review Board; Safer Foundation; and Westside Ministers Coalition.