NW Illinois News

Li Arellano Jr., the Republican state senator from Dixon, is raising concerns that Illinois’ newly passed Clean Slate Act could compromise public safety and transparency by automatically sealing certain criminal records without adequate safeguards for repeat offenders.

Lawmakers approved House Bill 1836, known as the Clean Slate Act, which allows certain criminal convictions to be sealed automatically and makes arrest records no longer publicly accessible.

Arellano pointed to gaps in how the legislation addresses repeat offenders and pending cases.

“If somebody recommits a crime later on and shows a pattern of activity, shouldn’t that automatically unseal everything else?” he told NW Illinois News. “Or what happens if somebody commits a new crime and it’s pending, but they haven’t been convicted? We just didn’t feel some of those questions had been fully addressed.”

The Clean Slate Act was sponsored by Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago), who was reported by multiple outlets in 2022 to have been under FBI investigation for alleged influence peddling related to body camera legislation that benefited a company he represented as an attorney. Sims has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged.

Arellano said he is concerned that the legislation, while well-intentioned, does not go far enough in distinguishing between rehabilitated individuals and repeat offenders.

“The question is, did it do a good enough job weeding out some of the ones who are not rehabilitated?” he said. “We don’t think it did. And that’s specifically where we’ll need to keep an eye on this bill. In other words, this bill does not unseal what those folks did when they commit new crimes. As that happens, we need to be ready to point it out and say, ‘This needs to be fixed.’”

Under the Clean Slate Act, serious offenses — including murder, sex crimes, human trafficking, Class X felonies, violent crimes, DUI and domestic battery — are excluded.

The legislation also extends implementation timelines, giving the Illinois State Police six additional months and court clerks one year to comply.

Arellano said the bill’s goals are understandable but its execution raises concerns.

“We want to have a fair shot at life,” he said. “And we don't want the past that, if they're rehabilitated, they should be able to move on from; we don't want it dragging them down. We don't want them getting pulled back into crime. We want them to have proper job opportunities. That's the underlying concept. Now, how you put that into practice is you have to balance that with the needs of the community and the public and employers to know who is not rehabilitated, who is actively continuing to commit crimes. That's the balance they're looking to strike.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has not yet signed the measure. Arellano urged vigilance once it takes effect.

“I would have considered voting for it as a small-government conservative with a libertarian streak,” Arellano said. “I don’t believe the government should always be able to follow you around and tag you with labels when you’ve shown you’ve moved on and are a productive member of the community. That’s a good goal. This bill fell a little bit short of that marker.”

Arellano also criticized the legislative process surrounding the bill’s passage.

“For rural Illinois, it was the worst veto session of my lifetime, maybe one of the worst in the history of the state,” he said.

He argued that the fall veto session strayed from its intended purpose.

“Veto session is not or shouldn't be, in good government, a time to throw these bills forward,” Arellano said. “It should be a time to look at the executive versus legislative branch and see where there are disagreements there. Instead, the majority party used it essentially as a continuation of regular session and passed some things with some notable changes that really didn't have time for the press to look at it, or the minority party, or even, quite frankly, rank-and-file members of the majority party. I don't think they fully got a chance to look at all these bills.”

Arellano, a combat veteran and Army Reserve squad leader, represents the 37th Senate District, which includes all or parts of Lee, Bureau, Henry, DeKalb, Ogle, Rock Island, Whiteside, Stark, Peoria, Woodford and Marshall counties.