Springfield City Council endorses Clean Slate initiative for criminal record sealing

Citizen Portal

In a pivotal City Council meeting on May 12, 2025, Springfield officials discussed the pressing need for the Clean Slate initiative, a legislative proposal aimed at automatically sealing criminal records for nonviolent misdemeanors and low-level offenses. This initiative seeks to address the disproportionate impact of criminal records on Black and Latino communities, who face significant barriers to employment, housing, and overall stability due to their past convictions.