Cook County Changes to Expungements and Sealings

The Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court of Cook County will now have a centralized expungement department. Now, petitions to expunge or seal from any district in the county may be filed together in any of the six districts. In the past, petitions had to be filed where the cases originated and required a filing fee for each petition filed. This was cost prohibitive for many clients who had cases in different districts. So regardless of whether you have a case in Rolling Meadows, Skokie, Bridgeview, Maywood, Chicago, or Markham, the petition can be now be filed together, and only one filing fee will be required (approx. $151.50). The expungement department will notify each district that the petition has been filed and give notice to the appropriate agencies, including the State’s Attorney’s Office. The agencies will have 60 days from receipt of the notice to object. Any required hearings will still take place in the district where the case originated.

If you would like to determine whether you can expunge or seal a case, contact Hannah Garst for a free consultation.