Rebuilding Lives. Strengthening Communities.

Chapter 1: Employment (cont.)
56
According to the Safer Foundation, the Prisoner Review Board (PRB) was concerned about deeming applicants “rehabilitated” without
any qualitative descriptions of how the state could conclude that an applicant was indeed “rehabilitated.” The PRB did not feel that the
statute language provided enough direction on the definition. They also needed to hire an administrative person to handle application
processing and needed funding to set up a database to maintain application information. Rochelle Perry, (Acting Director of Public
Policy, Safer Foundation), personal correspondence with Michelle Light, July 2005.
57
According the Safer Foundation, there is only one judge across the state (Honorable Paul Biebel in the Cook County Circuit Court)
who has reviewed motions for Certificate of Relief from Disability applications. Two applications were summarily rejected by the clerk’s
office for insufficient information. Four applications were filed and considered—two were approved and two were denied. Many
clerks in other municipal districts were not even aware of the legislation enacting the certificates. Rochelle Perry, (Acting Director of
Public Policy, Safer Foundation), personal correspondence with Michelle Light, July 2005.
58
According to the Safer Foundation, the Illinois Department of Finance and Professional Regulations (IDFPR) developed a report in
February 2005 on the receipt and processing of licensure applications from individuals with criminal records from January 1, 2004 to
November 30, 2004. During that period, IDFPR received 24 applications, of which they issued 16 licenses, denied 1 application, and
had 7 applications still pending. None of the 24 applicants had CRDs. Rochelle Perry, (Acting Director of Public Policy, Safer
Foundation), personal correspondence with Michelle Light, July 2005.
59
The Safer Foundation, the Legal Action Center and local advocacy groups have been working on these issues.
60
Currently, CRDs only apply to 18 of the 57 occupational licensing statutes with stipulations related to criminal history. PA 093-0207
applies to 15 occupations, and PA 093-0914 adds 3 additional occupations. Illinois. 93rd General Assembly. Public Act 093-0207,
(January 1, 2004) http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.aspname=093-0207 (accessed August 3, 2005); Illinois. 93rd
General Assembly. Public Act 093-0914, (January 1, 2004) http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.aspname=093-
0914&GA=093 (accessed August 3, 2005).
61
Delaware. SB #229. 142nd General Assembly. 1st session, June 22, 2004.
62
La Vigne, Nancy G. and Cynthia A. Mamalian, “A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Illinois,” (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute,
2003), 40.
63
La Vigne, Nancy G. and Cynthia A. Mamalian, “A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Illinois,” (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute,
2003), 40.
64
La Vigne, Nancy G. and Christine Visher, “Chicago Prisoners’ Experiences Returning Home,” (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute,
December 2004), 3.
65
Sherri Moses, (Director of Policy, Illinois Department of Employment Security), interview with Julie Wilen, October 7, 2005.
66
National Institute of Corrections, “Administrative Guide: Offender Workforce Development Specialists Training Program” (Washington,
D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, August 2004), 1.
67
Patricia Rusoff, (State Bonding Coordinator, Illinois Department of Employment Security), interview with Julie Wilen, September 28,
2005.
68
In 1997, for instance, a small Memphis-based firm named Rapsheets.com began selling national criminal background checks over the
internet for less than $30 apiece. The site claims that its criminal directory now encompasses 170 million criminal records. See
www.rapsheets.com and www.marketwire.com.
69
“SHRM Finds Employers Are Increasingly Conducting Background Checks to Ensure Workplace Safety,” press release (January 20,
2004) http://www.shrm.org/press_published/CMS_007126.asp (accessed November 18, 2005).
70
Tammi Kessel, (Assistant Bureau Chief, Illinois State Police), interview with Tim Michaels, August 19, 2005.
71
The results from this study can be found at www.napbs.com.
72
“Study Finds FBI Criminal Database Search Ineffective for Employment Background Checks,” National HIRE Network newsletter,
October 2005, 1-2.
73
Maurice Emsellem, (Soros Justice Senior Fellow, National Employment Law Project), email correspondence with Michelle Light,
November 10, 2005.
74
According to the EEOC, statistics show that members of certain minority groups, particularly African-Americans and Hispanics, are
arrested and convicted at a disproportionately higher rate than whites. Therefore, the EEOC advises employers not to use criminal
records as an absolute bar in hiring decisions because such use may disproportionately exclude people of color and consequently qualify
as racial discrimination.
75
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “Policy Statement on the Issue of Conviction Records under Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964,” Notice N-915, 2 (Feb. 4, 1987); Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “Policy Guidance on the Consideration of
Arrest Records in Employment Decision under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” Notice N-915-061, 2 (Sept. 7, 1990).
76
The City of San Francisco took a bold step recently as elected officials unanimously passed a resolution urging the city and county to
delete the question about prior convictions from public employment applications. Although this resolution does not prevent employers
from conducting background checks or asking about prior convictions during job interviews, it does give individuals with criminal
backgrounds an opportunity to present their qualifications in the application, get beyond the initial paperwork and sell themselves to
an employer. See Romney, Lee, “A Call to Let Felons Start Fresh: San Francisco Supervisors Urge Deletion of the Question about Prior
Felonies from Public Job Applications,” Los Angeles Times, October 12, 2005, B3.
77
Jodina Hicks, (Vice President of Public Policy and Community Partnerships, Safer Foundation), interview with Ben Lumpkin, May 5,
2005.
MAYORAL POLICY CAUCUS ON PRISONER REENTRY
117