Chicago Criminal Defense Lawyer Explains Important Amended to Illinois Juvenile Justice Act. The Illinois Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (“Act”) will undergo an important Amendment, which will begin to take effect in 2025.

Many individuals struggle with attempting to expunge their juvenile criminal records, sometimes years or decades after the fact. Under the amended Juvenile Court Act (SB 3463, effective January 1, 2025), the court is required to schedule an automatic expungement hearing at the time of adjudication, with the expungement order entered two years after the sentence has ended, provided the juvenile does not receive a new finding of delinquency during that period. The juvenile must be notified of the scheduled court date but is not required to appear in person for the expungement to be ordered. Importantly, not all offenses qualify for automatic expungement, certain serious offenses, including first-degree murder and sex offenses requiring registration on the Juvenile Sex Offender Registry, are excluded and may only be addressed through a separate petition-based process under 705 ILCS 405/5-915.

Matthew Chivari 

Leonard Trial Lawyers

January 15, 2025