Rauner signs bill protecting wrongfully arrested

A new Illinois law will help clear the records of innocent people wrongfully arrested due to mistaken identity.

On Aug. 14, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed House Bill 169, which was sponsored by Rep. Ken Dunkin, D-Chicago. The new law will help ensure that innocent people have their names cleared of erroneous arrest records.

The law facilitates the deletion of arrest records for people who were arrested based on mistaken identity. The destruction of these records would be required upon request by the proper authority such as the chief of police, county sheriff or state’s attorney.

People who have done nothing wrong and were arrested due to errors by law enforcement should not have arrest records attached to their names and should not have to explain wrongful arrests to potential employers.

Dunkin commented on the bill: “All police districts are not the same. This creates a process for that department to be proactive immediately after they acknowledge they made a simple mistake.”

Illinois Policy Action supported HB 169 as a common-sense measure to ameliorate the harm done by wrongful arrests.