SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — "There's two things that you cannot expunge in Illinois, and that is domestic violence and DIUs. So if you had a DUI 20 years ago, 30 years ago, you can never get rid of it," said Representative Tony McCombie, as she introduced a bill regarding DUI sealing.
A bill regarding DUI sealing was approved by the Judiciary Criminal Committee on Friday, March 19, after being first introduced by Representative McCombie.
House Bill 3934 is a bill about second chances, as McCombie puts it. It would allow DUI charges to be sealed, not expunged, if the following criteria are met:
- The person has not already been convicted of or been placed on supervision for DUI
- 10 or more years have passed since the end of the person's sentence
- The DUI incident did not proximately cause death or personal injury to someone or damage someone's property
- There is no other misdemeanor or felony driving charge on the person's record
- A judge can confirm that a plea agreement wasn't previously made on a lesser charge other than a DUI and that the person hadn't previously committed a DUI under the Illinois Vehicle Code or a similar ordinance
For situations where someone, like an employer, would need to see a potential worker's full driving record, the sealing allows case-by-case visibility.
In Iowa, a DUI offense - which is referred to as an OWI in Iowa, stays on your record for 12 years, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.
DUI convictions stay on a driver's record for life in several states, according to a chart by insurance company LendingTree. This includes: Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont.