(225 ILCS 458/5-22)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2027)

Sec. 5-22. Criminal history records check.

(a) An application for licensure by examination or restoration shall include the applicant's fingerprints submitted to the Illinois State Police in an electronic format that complies with the form and manner for requesting and furnishing criminal history record information as prescribed by the Illinois State Police. These fingerprints shall be checked against the Illinois State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history record databases now and hereafter filed. The Illinois State Police shall charge applicants a fee for conducting the criminal history records check, which shall be deposited into the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual cost of the records check. The Illinois State Police shall furnish, pursuant to positive identification, records of Illinois convictions to the Department. The Department may require applicants to pay a separate fingerprinting fee, either to the Department or to a vendor. The Department may adopt any rules necessary to implement this Section.

(b) The Secretary may designate a multi-state licensing system to perform the functions described in subsection (a). The Department may require applicants to pay a separate fingerprinting fee, either to the Department or to the multi-state licensing system. The Department may adopt any rules necessary to implement this subsection.

(c) The Department shall not consider the following criminal history records in connection with an application for licensure:

(1) juvenile adjudications of delinquent minors as defined in Section 5-105 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 subject to the restrictions set forth in Section 5-130 of that Act;

(2) law enforcement records, court records, and conviction records of an individual who was 17 years old at the time of the offense and before January 1, 2014, unless the nature of the offense required the individual to be tried as an adult;

(3) records of arrest not followed by a charge or conviction;

(4) records of arrest in which the charges were dismissed unless related to the practice of the profession; however, applicants shall not be asked to report any arrests, and an arrest not followed by a conviction shall not be the basis of a denial and may be used only to assess an applicant's rehabilitation;

(5) convictions overturned by a higher court; or

(6) convictions or arrests that have been sealed or expunged.

(d) If an applicant makes a false statement of material fact on the application, the false statement may in itself be sufficient grounds to revoke or refuse to issue a license.

(e) An applicant or licensee shall report to the Department, in a manner prescribed by the Department, upon application and within 30 days after the occurrence, if during the term of licensure, (i) any conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, larceny, extortion, conspiracy to defraud, or any similar offense or offenses or any conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude, (ii) the entry of an administrative sanction by a government agency in this State or any other jurisdiction that has as an essential element dishonesty or fraud or involves larceny, embezzlement, or obtaining money, property, or credit by false pretenses, or (iii) a crime that subjects the licensee to compliance with the requirements of the Sex Offender Registration Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-20, eff. 1-1-22; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)