Criminal Defense & DUI · DuPage County, Illinois
Focused defense for DUI and criminal matters across DuPage County, with your record and your future treated as the priority.
A past arrest or conviction can keep costing you long after the case is over — every job application, apartment search, and professional license can be derailed by something that should be behind you. Illinois law lets many people clear that history through expungement or sealing, but the rules about what qualifies and how to do it are detailed and easy to get wrong. We help people across DuPage County clean up their records, determining what relief you are eligible for and handling the petitions that give you a real fresh start.
We handle expungements and record sealing for clients across DuPage County and the western suburbs, from arrests that never led to conviction to qualifying convictions eligible for sealing. You work directly with the attorney on your petition, we pull and review your record to identify exactly what can be cleared, and we manage the filings and any objections through to the order. The goal is simple: remove the barriers an old record is putting between you and your future.
Different mechanisms apply to different records. We identify the right one for your situation.
Physically destroys the record, court file, arrest record, fingerprints. The strongest form of clearance.
Keeps the record but hides it from public/employer background checks. Law enforcement and certain employers can still see.
Special automatic and petition-based expungement for cannabis offenses under Illinois cannabis legalization.
Governor’s pardon, required for records not otherwise expungeable. Rare but available for serious cases.
Successful supervision completion typically qualifies for expungement after waiting period. Most common scenario.
When you were arrested due to someone else using your identity, different process, faster relief.
We obtain your full Illinois State Police and FBI rap sheets to identify everything eligible.
We analyze each charge against current statute, what’s expungeable, what’s sealable, what’s not yet.
We file petitions in each court of conviction. Filing fees and service to state’s attorney required.
Most petitions decided without hearing. State’s attorney can object, we respond if needed. Court order then sent to all agencies.
Statutes are detailed and changing. We catch eligibility many self-petitioners miss.
Forms must be specific. Defective petitions get denied without prejudice, but you’ve still paid filing fees.
Records across multiple Illinois counties require petitions in each. We handle the coordination.
When the state’s attorney objects, response strategy matters. We’ve responded to objections successfully many times.
Court order is step one. Distribution to police, ISP, FBI requires follow-through. We do it.
Most expungement cases are flat fee per charge, predictable cost for predictable benefit.
People use expungement as a catch-all, but Illinois actually offers two different kinds of relief, and which one applies determines what is possible. Expungement physically destroys or returns the records, as if the arrest never happened, and is generally available when a case ended without a conviction — an arrest with no charges, a dismissal, an acquittal, or a completed supervision. Sealing, by contrast, hides the record from most public view, including most employers, while keeping it accessible to law enforcement and certain agencies. Many qualifying convictions can be sealed even though they cannot be expunged.
Figuring out which relief you qualify for, and for which offenses, is where the real work is. Eligibility depends on the disposition, the type of offense, and waiting periods that must pass first, and some offenses are excluded entirely. We review your complete record, identify every item that can be expunged or sealed, and file the petitions correctly the first time, so you are not left with part of your history cleared and part still showing. A clean record opens doors, and we make sure yours opens as many as the law allows.
From our Villa Park office, we represent clients across DuPage County and the western suburbs of Chicago.
A DUI conviction cannot be expunged. However, court supervision on a first DUI is not a conviction and can be expunged after waiting period (typically 5 years from completion). The supervision-vs-conviction distinction is why first-DUI strategy matters.
Depends on case type. Cases that ended in dismissal, acquittal, or no charges filed: immediate. Court supervision: 2 years after successful completion (longer for some offenses). Sealing has additional waiting periods varying by offense.
Expungement physically destroys the record. Sealing keeps it but hides it from public background checks, though law enforcement and certain employers (childcare, school employees, healthcare workers) can still see sealed records.
Most felony convictions cannot be expunged. Some can be sealed under specific provisions. Class 4 felony convictions for certain offenses are sealable after 3 years. Felonies dismissed or resulting in acquittal can be expunged.
Court filing fees vary by county and case (typically $60-180 per case). Our attorney fees for expungement are flat-fee, typically less than employment opportunities being missed due to the record. We quote at consultation.
From petition filing to court order: typically 2-4 months. From order to record actually being cleared in police databases: another 2-4 months. Total 4-8 months in most cases.
Expungement erases or destroys the record, as though the arrest never occurred, and is generally available when there was no conviction — a dismissal, acquittal, or completed supervision. Sealing hides the record from most public and employer background checks but keeps it available to law enforcement, and it is available for many qualifying convictions that cannot be expunged. Which one you can use depends on how your case ended and the type of offense. We determine the right path for each item on your record.
Generally, a conviction itself cannot be expunged, but many convictions can be sealed, which removes them from most employer and public background checks. Cases that ended without a conviction — including completed court supervision and qualifying probation — can often be expunged outright. The rules are specific, with waiting periods and offense-based exclusions, so the first step is a careful review of your record. We tell you exactly what relief is available before you file.
Most people are surprised at what they qualify for. A free eligibility check tells you what can be cleared and what the realistic timeline looks like.