Will County To Expedite Some Cannabis Offense Expungements

WILL COUNTY, IL —Officials from the Will County Circuit Court and the county State's Attorney's Office have announced via press release that an expedited process is being pursued for many, but not all, cannabis offense expungements in Will County. These expungements mean that individuals with cannabis possession offenses on their public records will have those offenses permanently removed.

Expunging cannabis offenses was part of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act which legalized recreational marijuana use in Illinois. It states that all expungements for offenses logged between Jan. 1, 2013 and Jan. 1 2020 must be completed by Jan. 1, 2021.

The expedited process, the press release said, represents county officials' attempts to beat that deadline by 9 months.

"[State's Attorney] James Glasgow said he anticipates filing a motion in March that will apply to all low-level cannabis possession cases involving offenses between January 1, 2013 and January 1,
2020 eligible for automatic expungement," the release stated. "He also anticipates addressing low-level cannabis possession cases from earlier years in a subsequent motion."

Chuck Squires, the Will County Chief Deputy Clerk, told Patch a blanket expungement motion in March may be "a little optimistic." Still, he said he believes the motion could come sometime in the early Spring, perhaps in April.

According to Squires, more than 10,000 people in Will County could see their cannabis offenses erased, regardless of when the motion is filed.

One notable group excluded from the expedited expungement effort are people with cannabis delivery offenses. These offenses - in which individuals were charged with transporting marijuana - carry harsher penalties than simple possession. Depending on the amount someone was convicted of transporting, they could have faced between six months and three years in prison.

The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act includes those with delivery offenses up to a level four felony as being eligible for record expungement, but the release states that neither the State's Attorney nor the Will County Circuit Court will pursue an expedited process on their behalf.

"Although the Act also gives authority to expunge class 4 felony and misdemeanor cannabis delivery offenses," the release said, "State’s Attorney Glasgow will only be filing a motion to vacate and expunge simple cannabis possession cases that are not associated with felony charges or offenses outlined by the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act."

Carole Cheney, the State's Attorney's Office Director of Public Affairs, said the exclusion was a matter of 'focus' for the office.

"Our focus at the present time is on those cases eligible for automatic expungement under the new statute. Should motions be brought on cases that do not fall within the statutory criteria for automatic expungement, they will be addressed on a case-by-case basis," Cheney said.

The press release also did not mention whether currently incarcerated individuals would be eligible to have their records expunged, or how many incarcerated people in Will County expungement may affect.

Patch asked a representative from the Illinois State Police on Monday, Feb. 10 how inmates can discover if they are eligible to have their cannabis offenses expunged. The representative said they would attempt to find the answer to that and other questions, but as of Wednesday, Feb. 12, Patch has not received any further response.

According to the press release, those not incarcerated will have their records expunged automatically. They will reportedly be notified of their record's expungement by the Will County Circuit Clerk’s Office by mail.

Expedited processes aside, the expungement process began on New Year's Eve, 2019. On that day, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker pardoned some 11,000 people incarcerated on low-level marijuana offenses.