In Illinois (and it had to be Illinois), persons with records for non-violent misdemeanors and low-level drug & prostitution felonies can have their record expunged by petitioning a judge four years after the conviction.
Except, not. Because while local law enforcement will comply, the State Police will ignore the judge’s order.
From The Chicago Sun-Times:
For years, Illinois State Police officials, who keep a record of other department’s arrests and convictions, have refused to enforce many expungement orders because they don’t agree with judges’ interpretation of the law… Over the last eight years, he said, the State Police refused to comply with 281 such orders issued at the Cook County courthouse in Markham.
Judge Ronald Riley blasted the State Police for not complying with hundreds of expungement orders, calling State Police officials “arrogant.”
Since the practice was exposed, and Judge Riley issued a contempt order, the State Police have agreed to comply with 137 orders; but police officials still refuse to comply with another 144.
Riley has dropped the contempt order, as the State Police have agreed to negotiate. Don’t you wish you could “negotiate” whether or not to comply with a judge’s order?