Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown appeared before the City Council to help people remove minor offenses from their criminal records.
Expungement, if granted, results in an offense being removed from one's record.
Brown said it benefits the rest of society by making it easier for the individual to gain employment -- rather than rely on welfare or crime.
"It spares them a lifetime of low employment or no employment," Brown said. "It also spares the victims of future crimes or the rest of us from paying the cost of social welfare."
Not all criminal offenses are eligible. Generally, convictions on charges related to violence cannot be erased.
Brown said it is possible for a person's first offense on a drug-related charge to be removed, along with up to a second offense for a prostitution-related charge.
"There are a lot of people who have offenses on their records that are expungable, except that they didn't know," she said.
Brown also said just about any juvenile charge occurring before age 17 can be expunged once a person turns 21.
"Juveniles have the best chance to get things expunged from their records," she said.