A ranking member of the Illinois Senate has picked up a bill that would allow people to clear low-level marijuana convictions from their record with permission from a judge.
Lawmakers decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana in 2016. When the law changed, possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana in Illinois became a civil matter rather than a criminal one. The 2016 change didn't address those who had already been convicted of the crime.
Under the bill promoted up by Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford on Friday, a petitioner could ask a circuit judge to expunge the record of a conviction or plea of guilty for an offense from before July 29, 2016, if three years or more have passed since the petitioner has completed their sentence.
