---
type: "Bill"
title: "CRIM ID-SEALING RECORDS"
description: "Amends the Criminal Identification Act. Adds that the court shall not order the sealing of records of an arrest which results in the petitioner being charged with a felony offense or records of a charge not initiated by arrest for a felony offense unless (i) the charge results in acquittal, dismissal, or the petitioner's release without conviction or (ii) the charge results in a conviction, but the conviction was reversed or vacated. Effective immediately."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "97th"
identifier: "HB 298"
citation: "Illinois HB 298 (97th)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 45
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2011-01-28"
last_action: "2011-08-19"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d8cbbc6f-39d6-4838-a3e2-e8e99bf060dc"
source_url: "http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=298&GAID=11&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=55958&SessionID=84&GA=97"
source_hash: "f5e3fa5db413a79b634a60144d752529770bfc572527e0468cff27ebdeabf830"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-il"]
---

# Illinois HB 298 (97th) — CRIM ID-SEALING RECORDS

Amends the Criminal Identification Act. Adds that the court shall not order the sealing of records of an arrest which results in the petitioner being charged with a felony offense or records of a charge not initiated by arrest for a felony offense unless (i) the charge results in acquittal, dismissal, or the petitioner's release without conviction or (ii) the charge results in a conviction, but the conviction was reversed or vacated. Effective immediately.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700HB0298&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=55958&DocNum=298&GAID=11&Session=&print=true)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700HB0298eng&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=55958&DocNum=298&GAID=11&Session=&print=true)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700HB0298enr&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=55958&DocNum=298&GAID=11&Session=&print=true)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **68–34** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **56–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Constance A. Howard — primary (person)
- Donne E. Trotter — cosponsor (person)
- Emil Jones, III — cosponsor (person)
- Iris Y. Martinez — cosponsor (person)
- Toi W. Hutchinson — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2011-01-28** Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Constance A. Howard `filing`
- **2011-01-28** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2011-01-28** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2011-02-08** Assigned to Judiciary II - Criminal Law Committee `referral-committee`
- **2011-02-22** Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Mary E. Flowers
- **2011-03-10** Do Pass / Short Debate Judiciary II - Criminal Law Committee; 006-001-000 `committee-passage`
- **2011-03-10** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
- **2011-03-15** Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Marlow H. Colvin
- **2011-03-17** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2011-03-17** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2011-04-01** Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Robyn Gabel
- **2011-04-01** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Al Riley
- **2011-04-05** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Lisa M. Dugan
- **2011-04-05** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Patrick J. Verschoore
- **2011-04-05** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Camille Y. Lilly
- **2011-04-05** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Arthur Turner
- **2011-04-05** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. La Shawn K. Ford
- **2011-04-05** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Rita Mayfield
- **2011-04-05** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Patricia R. Bellock
- **2011-04-05** Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Derrick Smith
- **2011-04-05** Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 068-034-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2011-04-06** Arrive in Senate `introduction`
- **2011-04-06** Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading `reading-1`
- **2011-04-06** Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford
- **2011-04-07** Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins
- **2011-04-07** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2011-04-07** Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2011-04-12** Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Mattie Hunter
- **2011-04-27** Assigned to Criminal Law `referral-committee`
- **2011-05-05** Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Thomas Johnson
- **2011-05-05** Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Kwame Raoul
- **2011-05-06** Do Pass Criminal Law; 008-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2011-05-06** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 10, 2011
- **2011-05-16** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2011-05-16** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 17, 2011
- **2011-05-17** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Iris Y. Martinez
- **2011-05-17** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Donne E. Trotter
- **2011-05-23** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Toi W. Hutchinson
- **2011-05-23** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Emil Jones, III
- **2011-05-23** Third Reading - Passed; 056-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2011-05-23** Passed Both Houses
- **2011-06-21** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2011-08-19** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2011-08-19** Effective Date August 19, 2011
- **2011-08-19** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 97-0443 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d8cbbc6f-39d6-4838-a3e2-e8e99bf060dc`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).