Think your marijuana case has been wiped off your record? You might want to check — and get some help

Nearly half a million records of minor marijuana arrests were wiped off the books after Illinois legalized cannabis in 2019 — but only a fraction have been completely cleared from the public record, according to legal aid groups across the state. With the unofficial “4/20” holiday just over a week away, legal aid organizations sought to remind state residents that they might still have cannabis offenses on their records even though tens of thousands of convictions were expunged automatically by sweeping moves mandated by the state’s marijuana laws, as well as action by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Kim Foxx, state’s attorney in Cook County. But there are likely many, many more Illinoisans who could have their minor cannabis-related cases expunged — and many who only think they’ve already had their records cleared, said Leslie Corbett, executive director of the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation during a webinar Tuesday. Free legal help is available from New Leaf Illinois, a coalition of legal aid clinics and organizations across the state.