20 ILCS 2105/2105-135: Qualification for licensure or registration; applicant conviction records.

(a) The practice of professions licensed or registered by the Department is hereby declared to affect the public health, safety, and welfare and to be subject to regulation and control in the public interest. It is further declared to be a matter of public interest and concern that persons who are licensed or registered to engage in any of the professions licensed or registered by the Department perform the functions of those professions in a manner that does not harm or threaten harm to members of the public, which shall be a continuing requirement of licensure or registration so as to merit and receive the confidence and trust of the public. Upon a finding by the Department that a person has committed a violation of the disciplinary grounds of any licensing Act administered by the Department with regard to licenses, certificates, or authorities of persons exercising the respective professions, trades, or occupations, the Department, in addition to any remedy authorized under the licensing Act, is authorized to revoke, suspend, refuse to renew, place on probationary status, fine, or take any other disciplinary or nondisciplinary action it deems warranted against any licensee or registrant whose conduct harms or threatens harm to members of the public, as long as the Department has considered the factors set forth in subsection (a) of Section 2105-131 of this Act.

(b) No application for licensure or registration shall be denied based solely upon the fact that the applicant has previously been convicted of one or more criminal offenses. When reviewing a prior conviction of an initial applicant, the Department shall consider the factors set forth in subsection (a) of Section 2105-131 of this Act. A denial based on a finding of an applicant's lack of good moral character related to a prior conviction shall only be permitted when required by the relevant professional Act and after the Department has considered the factors set forth in subsection (a) of Section 2105-131 of this Act.

(c) The Department shall not require applicants to report the following information and shall not consider the following criminal history records in connection with an application for licensure or registration:

(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 where the charges were dismissed; applicants shall not be asked to report any arrests, and an arrest not followed by a conviction, if disclosed, 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.