House Bill 5973 amends current law, allowing people with low-level, non-violent offenses to get licenses through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to work in a number of professions they wouldn’t otherwise.

New legislation that took effect January 1 will reform how criminal records are expunged in Illinois, as well as allow released inmates to work in more professions in spite of their records.

State Rep. Barbara Wheeler, R-Crystal Lake, said House Bill 5017 will give juveniles convicted of low-level crimes a chance to get their lives back on track before they get too far off course.

“It allows these kids who may have made mistakes to have a clean slate, get education, get employment, know that their mistakes in the past aren’t going to follow them through.”

The bill automatically expunges certain records from a juvenile’s record instead of the long, sometimes costly process of youths doing it themselves.

Wheeler said the bill is a partner bill to House Bill 6328, which affects adult record expungement.

“They have an opportunity to move on with their lives,” she said.

House Bill 5973 amends current law, allowing people with low-level, non-violent offenses to get licenses through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to work in a number of professions they wouldn’t otherwise. One of the bill’s sponsors, state Rep. Margo McDermed, R-Mokena, said it’s about giving people a chance to follow their calling.

“We’re looking to increase the tax base here in Illinois,” McDermed said. “People love to be able to support themselves and their families, to buy the things that they want, and to do it by providing a service that they love,” McDermed said.

Professions involved include funeral director, construction worker, cosmetologist, hair braider,  public accountant and real estate agent.

The bills are part of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s plan to reduce the state’s prison population.

— Several Illinois criminal justice reform laws take effect in 2017 —