"I was charged with Unlawful Use of a Credit Card in 2003, and my case was closed in 2005. I was not given probation, nor any jail time. I did however receive Court Supervision, and since this was my first offense, I was told that as long as I did not get into anymore trouble that it would come off of my record. I'm not sure if this was considered a misdemeanor since I was not put on probation. Now my question is, when I fill out job applications and they ask have I been convicted of a misdemeanor, do I answer yes to this question or do i answer no, since I was told that this would come off of my record??? And when employers do background checks, will this show on my record?
Please help! "
Thanks, Heather
The Uniform Conviction Information Act (UCIA) mandates that all criminal history record conviction information collected and maintained by the Illinois State Police, Bureau of Identification, be made available to the public pursuant to 20 ILCS 2635/1 et seq. This law permits only conviction information to be disseminated to the public.A full check run by law enforcement officers may still show the arrest, but not show a conviction. You could request your own criminal history so you know what shows up there.
In the technical sense of the word, getting supervision is still a conviction. If you answer no and they develop the information somehow, (interviews of friends, etc.) your potential employer may be more concerned that you weren't honest with them than if you disclose it. If at the time you had the incident expunged from your record, or you were a juvenile, it may not show up at all in a records check.
For more information on background checks, visit www.isp.state.il.us and click on Criminal History on the left side of your screen.
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