PROPOSAL WOULD LET JOB-SEEKING EX-CONS SEAL RECORDS

SPRINGFIELD -- Eager to help ex-convicts start over, supporters of a measure
to seal some criminal records from potential employers believe their efforts
are picking up legislative momentum.

They cheered loudly as an Illinois House judiciary committee overwhelmingly
approved letting former prostitutes and minor drug offenders seek to seal
records so they have a better chance of landing jobs. ''Illinois is moving
forward today, folks,'' Rep. Willie Delgado, a Chicago Democrat who heads
the committee, said over the din last week. But others see unanswered
questions and potential problems that must be addressed. Some lawmakers are
still unclear on how many crimes could be sealed and whether there would be
exceptions for people seeking sensitive jobs, such as working with children.

And law enforcement officials say the bill really would not keep potential
employers from finding out whether job applicants have criminal records. ''I
think that everybody here is well-intentioned,'' said Rep. Chapin Rose
(R-Mahomet). ''I think right now it's a tale of two bills.'' That means more
work for advocates who have fought hard for years to win legislative support
for ex-cons from lawmakers afraid of being accused of going soft on
criminals.

They won a rare victory last year when lawmakers allowed sealing the records
of some misdemeanors. They hope to expand that this year to include some
felonies for nonviolent crimes.

Under the proposal, offenders would have to avoid convictions for between
three and four years after their sentences are complete to qualify, and
prosecutors and judges could say no to their requests. Law enforcement would
still have access to the records, and a person's records could only be
sealed once -- future convictions could not be hidden. But offenders, if
asked, would be able to legally tell a potential employer they have never
been convicted of a crime.

The proposal has won the backing of the state Senate by the narrowest of
margins. Now it heads to the full House with the support of Cook County
State's Attorney Dick Devine.

Initially, advocates wanted to include a longer list of crimes, but they
narrowed the list to quell business objections, said Rob Karr of the
Illinois Retail Merchants Association.

Now they have to decide whether to let ex-cons seal multiple convictions or,
as some lawmakers propose, just one.

Sen. John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the bill in that
chamber, said limiting it to a single offense would make the measure
meaningless.

''What good does it do to seal one record and not all of them?'' Cullerton
said. ''They're trying to find a way to be against something when they
should looking for a way to be for it.'' There are also concerns about
whether schools, day-care centers and other places that routinely do
background checks on prospective employees would be prevented from knowing
the criminal history in these cases. ''I don't want somebody who has been
convicted multiple times of dope possession driving a school bus ever,
period,'' said Rose, a former county prosecutor.

And some law enforcement officials say sealing records is meaningless
because private detective firms and others will still be able to track
electronically whether a person has been convicted, even though details of
the offenses won't be available.

''I don't think that the legislators understand sealing of records,'' said
Laimutis ''Limey'' Nargelenas, lobbyist for the Illinois Association of
Chiefs of Police. ''It's a waste of time.'' Supporters, however, insist such
problems can be fixed. ''I don't think that these things are so complicated
that we will have to delay the process,'' said Rep. Connie Howard, a Chicago
Democrat sponsoring the bill. ''I think people have finally come to
recognize that something has to be done. You just can't have people just
walking the streets.''