093_HR0355

                                     LRB093 11909 RLC 16291 r

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, As set forth as Illinois' official public policy
 3    for the State's juvenile justice system in the Juvenile Court
 4    Act of 1987 (705 ILCS 405/5-101(1)), "it is the intent of the
 5    General Assembly to promote a juvenile justice system capable
 6    of dealing with the problem of juvenile delinquency, a system
 7    that will protect the community,  impose  accountability  for
 8    violations   of   law,  and  equip  juvenile  offenders  with
 9    competencies to live responsibly and productively."; and

10        WHEREAS, In  order  to  achieve  these  stated  purposes,
11    Illinois must build a comprehensive, statewide record keeping
12    system  that  can  track  all  juvenile arrests, charges, and
13    dispositions, as well as a system that permits these  records
14    to be expunged once the youth has accepted responsibility and
15    addressed the harm he or she has caused to the victim and the
16    community; and

17        WHEREAS,  Illinois'  current  record  keeping  system  is
18    fragmented  and  incomplete,  and,  as such, does not provide
19    vital information needed  by  legislators,  state  officials,
20    court  administrators,  law  enforcement  officials,  judges,
21    community    leaders,    juvenile    justice   professionals,
22    researchers,  and   government   and   non-government   grant
23    administrators; and

24        WHEREAS,   An   essential   means   of   developing   the
25    competencies  of our youth who come into the juvenile justice
26    system is to provide vocational and educational opportunities
27    that  assist  them  in   becoming   productive,   law-abiding
28    citizens; and

29        WHEREAS,  A criminal record can be a barrier to our youth
30    in obtaining these educational and  vocational  opportunities
31    when  these  law  enforcement  and  court records are used by
32    employers, school officials and others to deny our youth such
 
                            -2-      LRB093 11909 RLC 16291 r
 1    opportunities; and

 2        WHEREAS, Many of our youth are not aware of their current
 3    rights under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 to expunge  their
 4    arrest and court records once they are eligible to do so, or,
 5    are  not  able  to  take advantage of the expungement process
 6    because of the filing and processing fees that  are  charged;
 7    and

 8        WHEREAS, Our communities are harmed by having their youth
 9    denied  educational and vocational opportunities on the basis
10    of criminal records that, under the  existing  provisions  of
11    the  Juvenile Court Act of 1987, could have been expunged and
12    never revealed; and

13        WHEREAS, For justice to be truly administered in a manner
14    that would foster respect and enhance the credibility of  the
15    juvenile  justice system, it is essential that Illinois build
16    and maintain  a  record  keeping  system  that  is  complete,
17    accurate,  and  comprehensive,  a  system that allows judges,
18    prosecutors, probations officers,  and  law  enforcement  the
19    ability  to  access  juvenile records of youth who, once they
20    become 17  years  old,  continue  to  commit  crimes  despite
21    juvenile  court  intervention,  and  a  system  that  permits
22    expungement   of   records   once  our  youth  have  redeemed
23    themselves to the victim and the  community  and  are  living
24    law-abiding lives; and

25        WHEREAS,  Community  safety  is compromised by fragmented
26    record  keeping  systems  that  do  not   maintain   accurate
27    information about juvenile arrests, charges, or dispositions,
28    particularly  ones that occur in another municipality, county
29    or part of the  State  other  than  where  the  young  person
30    resides; and

31        WHEREAS,   Victims   of   juvenile   crime   are   denied
32    opportunities  for  the harms caused to them by a juvenile to
 
                            -3-      LRB093 11909 RLC 16291 r
 1    be redressed through apologies,  restitution  and  meaningful
 2    community  service  when  the criminal histories of youth are
 3    not accurately documented, opportunities  that  can  also  be
 4    important learning and even life changing experiences for the
 5    youth; therefore, be it

 6        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
 7    NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that
 8    the  General Assembly should undertake a comprehensive review
 9    of all State statutes  that  govern  record  keeping  in  the
10    juvenile justice system with a view to revise these statutes,
11    as  needed,  to  achieve  the stated purposes of the Juvenile
12    Court Act of 1987 of  enhancing  community  safety,  insuring
13    that our youth are accountable for the harm they have caused,
14    and  providing  competency  development  of our youth so that
15    they become productive citizens; and be it further

16        RESOLVED, That the Illinois General Assembly should work,
17    in conjunction with the Illinois judiciary, the clerks of the
18    circuit courts, local government agencies  who  work  in  the
19    juvenile   justice  system,  State's  Attorneys  and  defense
20    counsel, the Illinois State Police, and local law enforcement
21    agencies, to examine ways to educate our  youth  about  their
22    right to expunge their criminal records so that they can take
23    full    advantage   of   all   educational   and   vocational
24    opportunities that are available to them; and be it further

25        RESOLVED, That the Illinois General Assembly should work,
26    with the above-named groups, to  examine  ways  to  make  the
27    expungement process more automated, accessible, and available
28    to  those  youth who, under the current statutory guidelines,
29    are entitled to have their records expunged.