McHenry County Clerk's Office Offers Expungement Clinic In November

MCHENRY COUNTY, IL — The McHenry County Circuit Clerk’s Office is offering opportunities for people to pay past-due McHenry County criminal and traffic fines and fees with collection fees and interest waived as well as help people petition to clear their criminal records, officials said.

For the third year, the circuit clerk’s Office is hosting amnesty week during which people can settle their court debts by paying the original amount due before their cases were turned over to collections, according to a news release from the clerk's office.

The expungement clinic is offered through a partnership with Prairie State Legal Services and the McHenry County Bar Association and is meant to help people prepare and file requests to clear their criminal record at no cost.

“Amnesty Week has been a true success story since we introduced it in 2022 – the number of
participants almost tripled last year, and we hope even more people take advantage of the service as word continues to spread,” said Kathy Keefe, a circuit clerk for the McHenry County Clerk's Office. “And we’re pleased to work once again with Prairie State Legal Services and the McHenry County Bar Association to help people who have turned their lives around work to clear their criminal records.”

Amnesty Week will take place between Nov. 8 and Nov. 15, and anyone with a balance due on a criminal, traffic, DUI, ordinance or conservation violation will be able to pay their total due, with no late fees and collection interest that may have accumulated, clerk's office officials said. The amnesty does not apply to any fines and costs that have already been paid or any tax refunds which have been applied against what is owed.

Since its creation, amnesty week has saved 127 individuals about $34,000 in late fees and interest, and about $43,000 owed to the court was paid, according to a news release.

People may ask for a quote for the amount due in their cases, minus fees and interest, by emailing
CircuitClerk@mchenrycountyil.gov or by calling 815-334-4190. Payments can be made online at
www.mchenrycircuitclerk.org, in person at the circuit clerk’s Office between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., by phone or by mail to the office at 2200 N. Seminary Ave., Woodstock. Payments can be made
by cash, personal check, credit or debit card.

The expungement clinic will take place from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Nov. 15 at the Michael J. Sullivan
Judicial Center, 2200 N. Seminary Ave., Woodstock. Attendees must pre-register online so the volunteer attorneys can have records ready.

Slots fill up quickly for the clinic, and people who do not register in advance cannot be helped, officials said. Registration will close when there are no remaining slots.