CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel is throwing his support behind legislation that would automatically erase some juvenile arrest records, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
Mayor Emanuel says right now a 17-year-old wants to have his or her juvenile arrest record, expunged needs the help of a lawyer. That would explain why only about 400 of the 21,000 young people eligible to apply actually got their records wiped clean. The Mayor told a justice symposium the expungement should be automatic.
“That record would not be a ball-and-chain around their neck. They could make choices, they could go to school, they can get a loan for college. They can have doors opened that all of the sudden become shut because of their record,” said Emanuel.
State Senator Kwame Raoul, one of the legislation’s sponsors, says he hopes the Mayor’s strong support helps the bill get further than it did on previous tries.
