20 ILCS 2105/2105-207: Records of Department actions; sealing of disciplinary records.

(a) Any licensee subject to a licensing Act administered by the Department and who has been subject to disciplinary action by the Department may file an application with the Department on forms provided by the Department, along with the required fee of $175, to have the records classified as confidential, not for public release, and considered sealed for reporting purposes if:

(1) the application is submitted more than 3 years after the disciplinary offense or offenses occurred or after restoration of the license, whichever is later;

(2) the licensee has had no incidents of discipline under the licensing Act since the disciplinary offense or offenses identified in the application occurred;

(3) the Department has no pending investigations against the licensee; and

(4) the licensee is not currently in a disciplinary status.

(b) An application to make disciplinary records confidential shall only be considered by the Department for an offense or action relating to:

(1) failure to pay taxes;

(2) continuing education;

(3) failure to renew a license on time;

(4) failure to obtain or renew a certificate of registration or ancillary license;

(5) advertising;

(5.1) discipline based on criminal charges or convictions:

(A) that did not arise from the licensed activity and was unrelated to the licensed activity; or

(B) that were dismissed or for which records have been sealed or expunged;

(5.2) past probationary status of a license issued to new applicants on the sole or partial basis of prior convictions;

(6) any grounds for discipline removed from the licensing Act;

(7) failure to comply with workers' compensation requirements; or

(8) reprimand of a licensee.

(c) An application shall be submitted to and considered by the Director upon submission of an application and the required non-refundable fee. The Department may establish additional requirements by rule.

(d) Any applicant for licensure or a licensee whose petition for review is granted by the Department pursuant to subsection (a-1) of Section 2105-165 of this Law may file an application with the Department on forms provided by the Department to have records relating to his or her permanent denial or permanent revocation classified as confidential and not for public release and considered sealed for reporting purposes in the same manner and under the same terms as is provided in this Section for the offenses listed in subsection (b) of this Section, except that the requirements of a 3-year waiting period and the $175 application fee do not apply.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section, and unless otherwise required by law, the Department shall classify disciplinary records as confidential and remove final disciplinary actions from public record without application when:

(1) 5 years or more have lapsed since the later of: (A) entry of a final disciplinary order against the applicant or licensee or (B) restoration of the license after the order;

(2) the licensee is not in disciplinary or probationary status, and there is no pending investigation against the licensee; and

(3) there have been no other incidents of discipline under any licensing Act regulated by the Department since the public discipline subject to review was entered or the license was restored.

The disciplinary offense or offenses that qualify under this subsection (e) do not include violations based on:

(A) convictions of health care workers for the offenses enumerated in Section 2105-165 unless a petition for review was granted pursuant to subsection (a-1) of Section 2105-165;

(B) forcible felony convictions as listed by the Criminal Code of 2012 or an equivalent law in any other jurisdiction, including under federal law;

(C) criminal acts that require registration under the Sex Offender Registration Act or sexual misconduct that is a violation of the Department's professional Acts;

(D) convictions of massage therapists for the offenses specified in subsections (c) and (c-5) of Section 45 of the Massage Therapy Practice Act; or

(E) felony convictions related to fraudulent activity, including, but not limited to, forgery, embezzlement, falsifying documentation, and defrauding the government.

If a disciplinary order consists of any of the convictions that do not qualify under this subsection (e), even in part, the disciplinary action shall not qualify for sealing under this subsection (e). The Department shall have up to 3 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly to fully implement the process of sealing records as provided in this subsection (e), subject to the availability of funds for the costs of programming and personnel required for the Department's implementation and the expenditure of Department resources.

(f) The Department may adopt additional requirements by rule. The Department is not required to report the removal of any disciplinary record from public record to any national database. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the Department from using a previous discipline for any regulatory purpose, such as a factor in aggravation, in any future disciplinary proceeding. The Department shall not be prohibited from releasing records of a previous discipline upon request by law enforcement or other governmental bodies as permitted by law. Classification of records as confidential shall result in removal of records of discipline from records kept pursuant to Sections 2105-200 and 2105-205 of this Act.