The 2013 Expo was held on March 9th, 2013.  Information about the 2014 Expo will be available in early 2014.

If you need help with sealing or expunging now, please come to the Sealing and Expungement Help Desk at the Skokie Courthouse (5600 Old Orchard Road in Skokie) every Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.  The Help Desk is located just outside the Clerk's Office (Room 136).



Come to this exciting, free event for the opportunity to attend presentations given by legal experts, access important community resources, and talk one-on-one with an attorney about your criminal record!  You will learn about the process of expunging and sealing criminal records and find out why understanding your record is so important.

To be clear, no records will actually be expunged or sealed at the Expo.  This is because only a Judge has the authority to decide whether or not an individual can clear their record.  Anyone who wants to clear their record must petition a judge, which means filling out forms asking the judge to expunge or seal the record in question.  You will still have to go to court to file your petition.  In addition, some criminal offenses do not qualify to be expunged or sealed. 

Resources and information will be available on a variety of other topics, as well, such as Executive Clemency (a pardon from the Governor).  View live presentations on topics like disclosure requirements for employees and job applicants, rights of job seekers, and benefits of expungement and sealing for students seeking college financial aid.  The Informational Expungement Expo will be a great resource for anyone who lives in or has been arrested in Northern Cook County, although it is also open to residents of other parts of Cook County.

Event participants will have the opportunity to speak to an attorney or qualified law student about their criminal history, including their adult court record, juvenile court record, arrest record, or traffic record.  Please pre-register for the Expo using the form on this website.  Also, if you were arrested or have any cases in Chicago, please get your RAP sheet from the Chicago Police (see FAQs for instructions on how to do this) and bring it with you to the Expo.  (A RAP sheet is a record of your criminal history, including arrests.) 

Please note that expungement and sealing petitions cannot be filed at the Expo, but attorneys at the event will work with qualifying individuals to instruct them on how to submit any paperwork necessary at the Office of the Clerk for the Circuit Court of Cook County.