Chicago – January 24, 2026
Over 1.7 million Illinois adults will be eligible to have their nonviolent criminal records automatically sealed after Gov. JB Pritzker on Jan. 16 signed the long-debated ‘Clean Slate’ Act.
House Bill 1836 will require law enforcement agencies and circuit clerks to begin systematically sealing eligible criminal records by 2029. Existing law already allows people to apply for qualifying records to be sealed for certain crimes. The new law doesn’t add to the list of eligible offences, but rather streamlines and automates the process, removing legwork for those with records.
Of the 2.2 million Illinois adults with a past arrest or conviction, advocates estimate that 1.74 million, or 79%, could have their records partially or fully sealed because of the legislation.
