Illinois Compiled Statutes
Chapter 20 - EXECUTIVE BRANCH
20 ILCS 2635/ - Illinois Uniform Conviction Information Act.

(20 ILCS 2635/1) (from Ch. 38, par. 1601)
Sec. 1.
Short Title.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the
"Illinois Uniform Conviction Information Act."

(Source: P.A. 85-922.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/2) (from Ch. 38, par. 1602)
Sec. 2. Legislative Findings and Purposes. (A) The legislature finds
and hereby declares that conviction information maintained by the Illinois
State Police shall be publicly available in the State of
Illinois.
(B) The purpose of this Act is: (1) to establish uniform policy for
gaining access to and disseminating conviction information maintained by
the State of Illinois; (2) to establish guidelines and priorities which
fully support effective law enforcement and ongoing criminal investigations
and which ensure that conviction information is made accessible within
appropriate time frames; (3) to ensure the accuracy and completeness of
conviction information in the State of
Illinois; and (4) to establish procedures for effectively correcting errors
and providing individuals with redress of grievances in the event that
inaccurate or incomplete information may be disseminated about them.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/3) (from Ch. 38, par. 1603)
Sec. 3. Definitions. Whenever used in this Act, and for the purposes
of this Act, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(A) "Accurate" means factually correct, containing no mistake or error
of a material nature.
(B) The phrase "administer the criminal laws" includes any of the
following activities: intelligence gathering, surveillance, criminal
investigation, crime detection and prevention (including research),
apprehension, detention, pretrial or post-trial release, prosecution, the
correctional supervision or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal
offenders, criminal identification activities, data analysis and research done by the sentencing commission, or the collection,
maintenance or dissemination of criminal history record information.
(C) "The Authority" means the Illinois Criminal Justice Information
Authority.
(D) "Automated" means the utilization of computers, telecommunication
lines, or other automatic data processing equipment for data collection or
storage, analysis, processing, preservation, maintenance, dissemination, or
display and is distinguished from a system in which such activities are
performed manually.
(E) "Complete" means accurately reflecting all the criminal history
record information about an individual that is required to be reported to
the Illinois State Police pursuant to Section 2.1 of the Criminal Identification Act.
(F) "Conviction information" means data reflecting a judgment of guilt
or nolo contendere. The term includes all prior and subsequent criminal
history events directly relating to such judgments, such as, but not
limited to: (1) the notation of arrest; (2) the notation of charges filed;
(3) the sentence imposed; (4) the fine imposed; and (5) all related
probation, parole, and release information. Information ceases to be
"conviction information" when a judgment of guilt is reversed or vacated.
For purposes of this Act, continuances to a date certain in furtherance
of an order of supervision granted under Section 5-6-1 of the Unified Code
of Corrections or an order of probation granted under either Section 10 of
the Cannabis Control Act, Section 410 of the Illinois Controlled
Substances Act, Section 70 of the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act, Section 12-4.3 or subdivision (b)(1) of Section 12-3.05 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, Section
10-102 of the Illinois Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependency Act, Section
40-10 of the Substance Use Disorder Act, or Section
10 of the Steroid Control Act shall not be deemed "conviction information".
(G) "Criminal history record information" means data identifiable to an
individual, including information collected under Section 4.5 of the Criminal Identification Act, and consisting of descriptions or notations of arrests,
detentions, indictments, informations, pretrial proceedings, trials, or
other formal events in the criminal justice system or descriptions or
notations of criminal charges (including criminal violations of local
municipal ordinances) and the nature of any disposition arising therefrom,
including sentencing, court or correctional supervision, rehabilitation and
release. The term does not apply to statistical records and reports in
which individuals are not identified and from which their identities are not
ascertainable, or to information that is for criminal investigative or
intelligence purposes.
(H) "Criminal justice agency" means (1) a government agency or any
subunit thereof which is authorized to administer the criminal laws and
which allocates a substantial part of its annual budget for that purpose,
or (2) an agency supported by public funds which is authorized as its
principal function to administer the criminal laws and which is officially
designated by the Illinois State Police as a criminal justice agency for purposes of
this Act.
(I) (Blank).
(J) "Director" means the Director of the Illinois State
Police.
(K) "Disseminate" means to disclose or transmit conviction information
in any form, oral, written, or otherwise.
(L) "Exigency" means pending danger or the threat of pending danger to
an individual or property.
(M) "Non-criminal justice agency" means a State agency, Federal agency,
or unit of local government that is not a criminal justice agency. The
term does not refer to private individuals, corporations, or
non-governmental agencies or organizations.
(M-5) "Request" means the submission to the Illinois State Police, in the form and
manner required, the necessary data elements or fingerprints, or both, to allow
the Illinois State Police to initiate a search of its criminal history record information
files.
(N) "Requester" means any private individual, corporation, organization,
employer, employment agency, labor organization, or non-criminal justice
agency that has made a request pursuant to this Act
to obtain
conviction information maintained in the files of the Illinois State
Police regarding a particular individual.
(O) "Statistical information" means data from which the identity of an
individual cannot be ascertained, reconstructed, or verified and to which
the identity of an individual cannot be linked by the recipient of the
information.
(P) "Sentencing commission" means the Sentencing Policy Advisory Council.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/4) (from Ch. 38, par. 1604)
Sec. 4. Applicability.
(A) The provisions of this Act shall apply
only to conviction information mandated by statute to be reported to or to
be collected, maintained, or disseminated by the Illinois State Police.
(B) The provisions of this Act shall not apply to statistical
information.
(C) In the event of conflict between the application of this Act and the
statutes listed in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) below, the
statutes listed below, as hereafter amended, shall control unless specified
otherwise:
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/5) (from Ch. 38, par. 1605)
Sec. 5. Public availability of conviction information. All
conviction information mandated by statute to be collected and maintained
by the Illinois State Police shall be open to public inspection in the
State of Illinois. All persons, state agencies and units of local
government shall have access to inspect, examine and reproduce such
information, in accordance with this Act, and shall have the right to take
memoranda and abstracts concerning such information, except to the extent
that the provisions of this Act or other Illinois statutes might create
specific restrictions on the use or disclosure of such information.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/6) (from Ch. 38, par. 1606)
Sec. 6. Dissemination time frames and priorities.
(A) The Illinois State Police's
duty and obligation to furnish criminal history record
information to peace officers and criminal justice agencies shall take
precedence over any requirement of this Act to furnish conviction
information to non-criminal justice agencies or to the public. When, in
the judgment of the Director, such duties and obligations are being
fulfilled in a timely manner, the Illinois State Police shall furnish conviction
information to requesters in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
The Illinois State Police may give priority to requests for conviction information
from non-criminal justice agencies over other requests submitted pursuant
to this Act.
(B) The Illinois State Police shall attempt to honor requests for conviction
information made pursuant to this Act in the shortest time possible.
Subject to the dissemination priorities of subsection (A) of this Section,
the Illinois State Police shall respond to a request for conviction information within
2 weeks from receipt of a request.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/7) (from Ch. 38, par. 1607)
Sec. 7. Restrictions on the use of conviction information.
(A) The
following provisions shall apply to requests submitted pursuant to this Act
for employment or licensing purposes or submitted to comply with the
provisions of subsection (B) of this Section:
(B) Regardless of the purpose of the request, no requester of conviction
information shall be liable for damages to any person to whom the
information pertains for actions the requester may reasonably take in
reliance on the accuracy and completeness of conviction information
received from the Illinois State Police pursuant to this Act, if: (1) the requester in
good faith believes the conviction information furnished by the Illinois State Police
to be accurate and complete; (2) the requester has complied with the
requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (A) of this Section;
and (3) the identifying information submitted by the requester to the Illinois State Police
is accurate with respect to the individual about whom the
information was requested.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/8) (from Ch. 38, par. 1608)
Sec. 8. Form, manner and fees for requesting and obtaining conviction
information.
(A) The Illinois State Police shall prescribe the form and manner for
requesting and furnishing conviction information pursuant to this Act. The Illinois State Police
shall prescribe the types of identifying information that must be
submitted to the Illinois State Police in order to process any
request for conviction information and the form and manner for making such
application, consistent with this Act.
(B) The Illinois State Police shall establish the maximum fee it shall charge and
assess for processing requests for conviction information, and the
Authority shall establish the maximum fee that other criminal justice
agencies shall charge and assess for processing
requests for conviction information pursuant to this Act. Such fees shall
include the general costs associated with performing a search for all
information about each person for which a request is received including
classification, search, retrieval, reproduction, manual and automated data
processing, telecommunications services, supplies, mailing and those
general costs associated with the
inquiries required by
subsection (B) of Section 9 and Section
13 of this Act, and, when applicable, such fees shall
provide for the direct payment to or reimbursement of a criminal justice
agency for assisting the requester or the Illinois State Police pursuant to this Act.
In establishing the fees required by this Section, the Illinois State Police and the
Authority may also take into account the costs relating to multiple or
automated requests and disseminations and the costs relating to any other
special factors or
circumstances required by statute or rule. The maximum fees established by
the Authority pursuant to this Section may
be waived or reduced at the discretion of a criminal justice agency.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/9) (from Ch. 38, par. 1609)
Sec. 9. Procedural requirements for disseminating conviction
information.
(A) In accordance with the time parameters of Section 6 and
the requirements of
subsection (B) of
this Section 9, the Illinois State Police
shall either: (1) transmit conviction information to the
requester, including an explanation of any code or abbreviation; (2)
explain to the requester why the information requested cannot be
transmitted; or (3) inform the requester of any deficiency in the request.
(B) Prior to a non-automated dissemination or within 30 days subsequent to
an automated dissemination made pursuant to this Act, the Illinois State Police shall
first conduct a formal
update inquiry and review to make certain that the information
disseminated is complete, except (1) in cases of exigency, (2) upon request of
another criminal justice agency, (3) for conviction information that is less
than 30 days old, or (4) for information intentionally fabricated upon the
express written authorization of the Director of the Illinois State Police to support
undercover law enforcement efforts.
It shall be the responsibility of the Illinois State Police to retain a record
of every extra-agency dissemination of conviction information for a period
of not less than 3 years. Such records shall be subject to audit by the Illinois State Police, and shall, upon request, be supplied to the individual to whom
the information pertains for requests from members of the general public,
corporations, organizations, employers, employment agencies, labor
organizations and non-criminal justice agencies. At a minimum, the
following information shall be recorded and retained by the Illinois State Police:
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/10) (from Ch. 38, par. 1610)
Sec. 10. Dissemination requests based upon fingerprint
identification. When fingerprint identification accompanies a request for
conviction information maintained by the Illinois State Police, an appropriate
statement shall be issued by the Illinois State Police indicating that the information
furnished by the Illinois State Police positively pertains to the individual whose
fingerprints were submitted and that the response contains
all the conviction information that has been reported to the Illinois State Police
pursuant to Section 2.1 of the Criminal Identification Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/11) (from Ch. 38, par. 1611)
Sec. 11. Dissemination requests not based upon fingerprint
identification.
(A) When a requester is not legally mandated to submit
positive fingerprint identification to the Illinois State Police or when a requester
is precluded from submitting positive fingerprint identification to the Illinois State Police
due to exigency, an appropriate warning shall be issued by the Illinois State Police
indicating that the information furnished cannot be identified
with certainty as pertaining to the individual named in the request and may
only be relied upon as being accurate and complete if the requester has
first complied with the requirements of subsection (B) of Section 7.
(B) If the identifying information submitted by the requester to the Illinois State Police
corresponds to more than one individual found in the files
maintained by the Illinois State Police, the Illinois State Police shall not disclose the
information to the requester, unless it is determined by the Illinois State Police
that dissemination is still warranted due to exigency or to administer the
criminal laws. In such instances, the Illinois State Police may require the requester
to submit additional identifying information or fingerprints in the form
and manner prescribed by the Illinois State Police.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/12) (from Ch. 38, par. 1612)
Sec. 12. Error notification and correction procedure. It is the duty
and responsibility of the Illinois State Police to maintain accurate and complete
criminal history record information and to correct or update such
information after determination by audit, individual review and challenge
procedures, or by other verifiable means, that it is incomplete or
inaccurate. Except as may be required for a longer period of time by
Illinois law, the Illinois State Police shall notify a requester if a subsequent
disposition of conviction or a subsequent modification of conviction
information has been reported to the Illinois State Police within 30 days of
responding to the requester.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/13) (from Ch. 38, par. 1613)
Sec. 13. Limitation on further dissemination. Unless otherwise
permitted by law or in the case of exigency, the subsequent dissemination
of conviction information furnished by the Illinois State Police pursuant to this Act
shall only be permitted by a requester for the 30 day period immediately
following receipt of the information. Except as permitted in this Section,
any requester still wishing to further disseminate or to rely on the
accuracy and completeness of conviction information more than 30 days from
receipt of the information from the Illinois State Police shall initiate a new
request to the Illinois State Police
for current information.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/14) (from Ch. 38, par. 1614)
Sec. 14. Judicial remedies.
(A) The Attorney General or a State's
Attorney may bring suit in the circuit courts to prevent and restrain
violations of this Act and to enforce the reporting provisions of Section
2.1 of the Criminal Identification Act. The Illinois State Police may request the Attorney
General to bring any such action authorized by this subsection.
(B) An individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act by a State agency
or unit of local government shall have the right to pursue a civil action
for damages or other appropriate legal or equitable remedy, including an
action to compel the Illinois State Police to disclose or correct conviction
information in its files, once administrative remedies have been exhausted.
(C) Any civil action for damages alleging the negligent dissemination of
inaccurate or incomplete conviction information by a State agency or by a
unit of local government in violation of this Act may only be brought
against the State agency or unit of local government and shall not be
brought against any employee or official thereof.
(D) Civil remedies authorized by this Section may be brought in any
circuit court of the State of Illinois in the county in which the violation
occurs or in the county where the State agency or unit of local government
is situated; except all damage claims against the State of Illinois for
violations of this Act shall be determined by the Court of Claims.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/15) (from Ch. 38, par. 1615)
Sec. 15. Civil damages.
(A) In any action brought pursuant to this
Act, an individual aggrieved by any violation of this Act shall be entitled
to recover actual and general compensatory damages for each violation,
together with costs and attorney's fees reasonably incurred, consistent
with Section 16 of this Act. In addition, an individual aggrieved by a
willful violation of this Act shall be entitled to recover $1,000. In
addition, an individual aggrieved by a non-willful violation of this Act
for which there has been dissemination of inaccurate or incomplete
conviction information shall be entitled to recover $200; provided,
however, if conviction information is determined to be incomplete or
inaccurate, by audit, by individual review and challenge procedures, or by
other verifiable means, then the individual aggrieved shall only be
entitled to recover such amount if the Illinois State Police fails to correct the
information within 30 days.
(B) For the purposes of this Act, the State of Illinois shall be liable
for damages as provided in this Section and for attorney's fees and
litigation costs as provided in Section 16 of this Act. All damage claims
against the State of Illinois or any of its agencies for violations of this
Act shall be determined by the Court of Claims.
(C) For purposes of limiting the amount of civil damages that may be
assessed against the State of Illinois or a unit of local government
pursuant to this Section, a State agency, a unit of local government, and
the officials or employees of a State agency or a unit of local government
may in good faith rely upon the assurance of another State agency or unit
of local government that conviction information is maintained or
disseminated in compliance with the provisions of this Act. However, such
reliance shall not constitute a defense with respect to equitable or
declaratory relief.
(D) For purposes of limiting the amount of damages that may be assessed
against the State of Illinois pursuant to this Section, the Illinois State Police may
in good faith presume that the conviction information reported to it by a
clerk of the circuit court or a criminal justice agency is accurate.
However, such presumption shall not constitute a defense with respect to
equitable or declaratory relief.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/16) (from Ch. 38, par. 1616)
Sec. 16.
Attorney's Fees and Costs.
(A) Attorney's fees and other
costs shall be awarded to any plaintiff who obtains declaratory, equitable,
or injunctive relief. The amount awarded shall represent the reasonable
value of the services rendered, taking into account all the surrounding
circumstances, including but not limited to: the amount of attorney time
and other disbursements determined by the court to be reasonably required
by the nature of the case; the benefit rendered to the public; the skill
demanded by the novelty or complexity of the issues; and the need to
encourage the enforcement of this Act.
(B) Attorney's fees and other costs shall, consistent with subsection
(A) of this Section, also be awarded to any plaintiff who obtains monetary
relief for damages. However, in no event shall such an award exceed the
actual amount of monetary damages awarded to the plaintiff.
(C) The court shall, consistent with subsection (A) of this Section,
assess attorney's fees and litigation costs reasonably incurred by the
State, a unit of local government, or government official or employee to
defend against any private party or parties bringing an action pursuant to
this Act, upon the court's determination that the action was brought in bad
faith or is malicious, vexatious, or frivolous in nature.

(Source: P.A. 85-922.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/17) (from Ch. 38, par. 1617)
Sec. 17. Administrative sanctions. The Illinois State Police shall refuse to
comply with any request to furnish conviction information maintained in its
files, if the requester has not acted in accordance with the requirements
of this Act or rules and regulations issued pursuant thereto. The
requester may appeal such a refusal by the Illinois State Police to the Director.
Upon written application by the requester, the Director shall hold a
hearing to determine whether dissemination of the requested information
would be in violation of this Act or rules and regulations issued
pursuant to it or other federal or State law pertaining to the collection,
maintenance or dissemination of criminal history record information. When
the Director finds such a violation, the Illinois State Police shall be prohibited
from disseminating conviction information to the requester, under such
terms and conditions and for such periods of time as the Director deems
appropriate.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/18) (from Ch. 38, par. 1618)
Sec. 18.
Criminal Penalties.
Any person who intentionally and
knowingly (A) requests, obtains, or seeks to obtain conviction information
under false pretenses, or (B) disseminates inaccurate or incomplete
conviction information in violation of this Act, or (C) fails to
disseminate or make public conviction information as required under this
Act, or (D) fails to correct or update a conviction record after it is
determined by audit, by individual review and challenge procedures, or by
other verifiable means to be inaccurate or incomplete for the purpose of
causing harm to the individual named in the request or to whom the
information pertains, or (E) violates any other provision of this Act,
shall for each offense be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

(Source: P.A. 85-922.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/19) (from Ch. 38, par. 1619)
Sec. 19. Coordinating and implementing policy. The Illinois State Police shall
adopt rules to prescribe the appropriate form, manner and fees for
complying with the requirements of
this Act. The Authority shall adopt rules to prescribe form, manner and
maximum fees which the Authority is authorized to establish pursuant to
subsection (B) of Section 8 of this Act. Such rulemaking is subject to the
provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/20) (from Ch. 38, par. 1620)
Sec. 20. State liability and indemnification of units of local
government.
(A) The State of Illinois shall guarantee the accuracy and
completeness of conviction information disseminated by the Illinois State Police that
is based upon fingerprint identification. The State of Illinois shall not
be liable for the accuracy and completeness of any information disseminated
upon identifying information other than fingerprints.
(B) The State of Illinois shall indemnify a clerk of the circuit court,
a criminal justice agency, and their employees and officials from, and
against, all damage claims brought by others due to dissemination by the Illinois State Police
of inaccurate or incomplete conviction information based upon
positive fingerprint identification, provided that the conviction
information in question was initially reported to the Illinois State Police accurately
and in the timely manner mandated by Section 2.1 of the Criminal Identification Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/21) (from Ch. 38, par. 1621)
Sec. 21. Audits. The Illinois State Police shall regularly conduct
representative audits of the criminal history record keeping and criminal
history record reporting policies, practices, and procedures of the
repositories for such information in Illinois to
ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act and Section 2.1 of the Criminal Identification Act. The findings of such audits shall be reported to
the Governor, General Assembly, and, upon request, to members of the
general public.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/22) (from Ch. 38, par. 1622)
Sec. 22.
Supplementary Remedies.
The remedies provided in this Act
are supplementary to, and in no way modify or supplant, any other
applicable causes of action arising under the Constitution, statutes, or
common law of the State of Illinois.

(Source: P.A. 85-922.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/23) (from Ch. 38, par. 1623)
Sec. 23.
Construction.
(A) The provisions of this Act shall be
construed to afford the maximum feasible protection to the individual's
right to privacy and enjoyment of his good name and reputation and shall be
construed to apply to both manual and automated criminal history record
information systems wherever possible.
(B) The provisions of this Act shall be construed to make government
agencies accountable to individuals in the collection, use, and
dissemination of conviction information based upon positive fingerprint
identification relating to them.
(C) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as restricting or prohibiting
the dissemination of criminal history record information to a requesting
criminal justice agency or peace officer or the dissemination of local
criminal history record information maintained by criminal justice agencies on
behalf of units of local government to members of the general public
requesting such information.

(Source: P.A. 85-922.)
 
(20 ILCS 2635/24) (from Ch. 38, par. 1624)
Sec. 24.
Statute of Limitations.
Any cause of action arising under
this Act shall be barred unless brought within 3 years from the date of
the violation of the Act or within 3 years from the date the plaintiff
should reasonably have known of its violation, whichever is later.

(Source: P.A. 85-922.)

Structure Illinois Compiled Statutes