NOTE: This page has new content to clarify the recent impact of Public Act 101-223 (effective January 1, 2020) and Public Act 101-651 (effective August 7, 2020). These Acts adjusted the Illinois approach to standard and aggravated domestic battery offenses, including the possibility of a felony charge.
A person convicted of a misdemeanor can have their record expunged in most circumstances. Most misdemeanors allow the court to impose a term of supervision, if the defendant has no criminal history. Supervision is not a conviction and, therefore, it can be expunged.
A conviction, however, cannot be expunged. It can only be sealed. Unlike felony convictions, many misdemeanor convictions can be sealed.
But there are misdemeanor convictions that the Illinois legislature has excluded from sealing entirely. State lawmakers excluded these charges from eligibility on policy grounds. In their opinion, for the protection of the public, a defendant should not be able to seal a conviction for certain charges.
The following misdemeanor convictions cannot be sealed:
- Battery, 720 ILCS 5/12-3
- Assault, 720 ILCS 5/12-1
- Aggravated assault, 720 ILCS 5/12-2
- Domestic battery, 720 ILCS 5/12-3.2
- Reckless conduct, 720 ILCS 5/12-5
- Criminal sexual abuse, 720 ILCS 5/11-1.50
- Violation of an order of protection, 720 ILCS 5/12-3.4
The charges above are defined as crimes of violence under the Crime Victims Compensation Act (740 ILCS 45/2(c)). A conviction for any of these crimes cannot be sealed.
In terms of domestic battery, specifically, Illinois law changed in 2020. Even though domestic battery is typically charged as a misdemeanor, the new laws also enable felony charges. If the defendant has a previous conviction for aggravated domestic battery, a subsequent domestic battery offense will result in Class 4 felony charges. If convicted for the felony version of domestic battery, that record cannot be sealed.
In certain cases, however, it is possible to obtain a term of supervision for the above-mentioned offenses. That is significant, because sentences of supervision are eligible for expungement.