This week President Biden issued a blanket pardon for service members who were removed from the military due to their sexual orientation and identity. The White House predicts the clemency action will affect around 2,000 veterans.

“This is about dignity, decency, and ensuring the culture of our Armed Forces reflect the values that make us an exceptional nation,” Biden said in a statement. “We have a sacred obligation to all of our service members – including our brave LGBTQI+ service members: to properly prepare and equip them when they are sent into harm’s way, and to care for them and their families when they return home. Today we are making progress in that pursuit.”

The White House also stated that other offenses that affected LGBTQI+ individuals in the military but do not fall within the guidelines for the blanket pardon would be considered on an expedited case-by-case basis.

The Governor of Maryland announced plans to pardon more than 175,000 people with convictions for cannabis possession. This joins a larger trend both federally and among many states (including Illinois) to forgive and help those with low level cannabis cases as the public perception of the drug moving more towards acceptance.

Unfortunately for those in Maryland, these pardons do not also expunge the cases from their record. In Illinois, cases that receive a pardon can also be expunged so that the former conviction does not continue to come up on background checks.

I just received notification from the Illinois Prisoner Review Board that Governor Pritzker has released a new batch of clemency decisions, and two of my clients were granted pardons in this group.

Congratulations to everyone else receiving clemency today!

In two batches of decisions in the month of November, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker granted clemency to a total of 29 individuals. Of the 29, 23 were in the form of a pardon while the remaining 6 were for commutations of sentences.

As always, congratulations to all those who receive well-deserved their clemency!

Earlier today the Governor's office announced the first wave of pardons granted for cannabis convictions as part of the automatic expungement process. But in addition to those, Governor Pritzker also granted 20 pardons from the normal group of those seeking clemency. This represents the first major batch of clemency decisions released by the Governor. Among the offenses receiving clemency were battery, drug possession, attempted burglary and theft.

One of my clients was included in the 20 receiving pardons. To the rest, congratulations on being able to start the new year with a chance for a clean slate! As a reminder, you will still need to seek the expungement separately in court.

Today, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker released the first wave of pardons for misdemeanor convictions of cannabis possession. As part of the new process to automatically expunge misdemeanor cannabis cases, Pritzker granted clemency for 11,017 cases. Reportedly, there are about 572,000 total records (convictions or otherwise) eligible for automatic expungement.

The new law also allows for petitioners to seek expungement directly in the court rather than wait for the automatic process to play out. It also allows for low level felony cannabis cases to be expunged in court. Felony cases are not part of the automatic expungement process.

By: Bryant Chavez and Hannah Garst

On June 25, 2019, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law HB 1438, which will end cannabis prohibition and replace it with a system to tax and regulate cannabis for adults 21 and over. Beginning on January 1, 2020, adults (21 and older) may possess and/or purchase cannabis products in licensed stores. Possession is limited to:

• 30 grams of raw cannabis;
• Cannabis-infused product or products containing no more than 500 mg of THC; and
• Five grams of cannabis product in concentrated form.

In addition to legalizing possession and use for adults, it allows for expungement for cannabis offenses. If you were convicted of possession of between 30 and 500 grams of marijuana, we can petition the Court for an expungement. The Court will weigh many factors, including facts of the underlying offense, when considering whether to grant the petitions to vacate and expunge your record. It is up to us to convince the Court that the remedy is appropriate for you.
Automatic Expungement of Criminal Records Involving Marijuana (Cannabis) Convictions of less than 30 grams
Individuals with qualifying offenses and records are not required to take any action to have their records automatically expunged. However, if you would like to have your record expunged as soon as possible, we can petition the Court to vacate and expunge the conviction without waiting for the Prisoner Review Board and Governor.

• Arrests Not Resulting in Criminal Charges: These cases are currently eligible to be expunged. However, starting on January 1, 2020, expungements will be automatic for arrests involving up to 30 grams of marijuana as long as at least one calendar year has passed since the date of arrest and no subsequent criminal charges were filed related to the arrest. Automatic expungement will start according to the date of the original arrest (see below).
• Arrests Resulting in Criminal Charges Not Resulting in a Conviction: These cases are currently eligible to be expunged. If you would like to have your record expunged as soon as possible, contact us today to start this process. Automatic expungement will start according to the date of the original arrest (see below).
• Convictions Involving Possession of Marijuana 30 Grams or Less: Starting on January 1, 2020, convictions involving up to 30 grams of marijuana will be eligible for automatic expungement. The violation must not have involved delivering marijuana to a child under the age of 18 who was at least 3 years younger than the defendant and did not involve a violent crime. The Illinois State Police will automatically identify all eligible conviction records and forward them to the Prisoner Review Board. After the Prisoner Review Board reviews the records, it will go to the governor with a recommendation for pardon. Once the governor grants a pardon, the state attorney general will petition the court to expunge the record.
• Timetable for Automatic Expungements

The schedule (and deadlines) for law enforcement agencies to automatically expunge qualifying offenses and records is based upon the initial date of arrest.

• Records created between January 1, 2013 and January 1, 2020, shall be automatically expunged prior to January 1, 2021
• Records created between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2012, shall be automatically expunged prior to January 1, 2023
• Records created before to January 1, 2000 shall be automatically expunged prior to January 1, 2025.

Individuals with qualifying offenses and records are not required to take any action to have their records automatically expunged. However, if you wish to start the expungement process today, contact the Bryant Chavez Law Office, LLC.
 
The automatic expungement mandate does NOT apply to marijuana related arrests and convictions associated with arrests and/or convictions for:

• Violent sexual offenses
  
• Sexual offenses against a minor
• Stalking offenses
• Any offense resulting in a court order to register as a Sex Offender
• Animal abuse offenses

Violations of local ordinances

On Friday, outgoing Illinois governor Bruce Rauner released his final batch of executive clemency decisions. Included in the group were 31 pardons, four commutations of sentence, and 268 denials. The pardons come with the authorization to expunge the cases from the criminal records of the receipients.

With the 303 decisions, Rauner cleared out all of the remaining pending petitions from the docket. So, incoming governor J.B. Pritzker will start from a fresh slate.

Congratulations to all those that have received their well-earned clemency!

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has released his 27th batch of executive clemency decisions. It is part his plan to clear out all pending clemency petitions before he leaves office on January 14th. This batch of decisions includes 10 granted and 286 denied. The petitions granted came in the form of pardon with authorization to expunge their criminal record. Among the offenses were domestic battery, burglary, and theft.

One of my clients was included in the 10. To the others congratulations on receiving clemency! To the others, your record may be eligible for sealing, or you may seek to refile in a year.

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has stated that he plans to clear out any backlog of clemency petitions remaining before leaving office. Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker is inaugurated on January 14, 2019. So, if you have a clemency petition before the Governor now, you can expect to hear something in the coming weeks. Good luck!