Shaw Local article removal request

Effective Jan. 1, 2020, arrests and convictions for simple possession of marijuana (less than 30 grams, or about an ounce) will be expunged in the state of Illinois. Police records will be destroyed and court records will be hidden from public view, removing the arrest from the public record.

There are many reasons why Shaw Media Illinois writes stories about public safety, arrests and charges. But with the change in the law, there are names that appear in our police blotter going back many years whose records will be expunged.

Although we are highlighting marijuana arrests because of the change in the law, this extends to any arrest or charge that has been expunged. We have received requests like this in the past from people who have clearly indicated to us that they are being impacted in job searches, housing applications, or someone just searching the web for their name, and this is happening years after their case has been expunged.

If your name appears in a police report on our website and your record has been expunged, we have created a form so the name can be removed. Please note that this applies only to cases where records have been expunged – not those in which a person pleaded guilty and received supervision, probation or any other sentence.

We will remove expunged arrests from our police blotter archives on our websites, and will do our best to do so within 10 business days of your submission.

Fill out the form below, including the URL of where your name appears on one of our websites. You will need to upload documentation showing the record has been expunged by order of a court.

Contact expungement@shawmedia.com if you have any further questions.

An important note: This process applies to content on Shaw Media Illinois websites only (Northwest Herald, Kane County Chronicle, Daily Chronicle, Lake County Journal, My Suburban Life, Kendall County Now, The Herald-News, Morris Herald-News, Ottawa Times, La Salle News-Tribune, Sauk Valley Media and Bureau County Republican). We do not have control over content on other websites and search engines. We can re-submit a webpage to Google for re-indexing upon request, but if and when that happens is completely out of our hands.