Michael Sweig, JD. Founder, The Institute for People with Criminal Records
The Colorado Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the Restoration for People with Criminal Records Act, 7-0, on February 13, 2012. The bill, SB 105, provides the ability for convicting courts to relieve probationers and those who have completed their criminal sentences from “collateral consequences of conviction” in employment, licensing, housing and other barriers. It removes from a person’s criminal record arrests for which there were no charges or convictions, and the bill seals petty offenses not previously sealable. We are grateful to bill sponsor, Senator Pat Steadman. Read Michael Sweig’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee here. The Denver Post coverage is here.
The Chicago Tribune has profiled Michael Sweig in “From Practicing Law to Changing it”, by Dawn Turner Trice – Chicago Tribune August 1, 2010.
Legislators and others recognize Mr. Sweig’s advocacy skills. He is also a decade long legal studies professor, and was fortunate to work as the Public Policy Liaison for Chicago’s Safer Foundation, before he founded the Institute for People with Criminal Records.
Mr. Sweig was the principal lobbyist for an Illinois bill which Governor Pat Quinn called “noble” legislation, which in January, 2010, put Illinois in a class by itself for the sweeping remedies it provides people with criminal records to prove their rehabilitation, and the absolute protections it gives employers to hire them.
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton appointed Mr. Sweig, in September 2010, to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Task Force on Inventorying Employment Restrictions.
In September 2009, Illinois State Representative Constance A. “Connie” Howard, (D, 34th), presented Mr. Sweig with a Criminal Justice Reform Advocacy award for “ ‘his invaluable contribution to assist people who seek a second chance to become productive citizens.”
“In Felony’s Mirror” is Michael Sweig’s memoir with essays on legal ethics and restorative justice. Read more. Available here.- “Moving the Box” by Executive Order in Illinois | De Paul Journal for Social Justice, 4 DePaul J. for Soc. Just. 1:17 Fall 2010. (with co-author Melissa McClure).
- Blueprint for Progress: How Illinois Empowers Rehabilitated People with Criminal Records | Ch. 8, ISSUES WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS, 2010 Supplement, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education | Summer 2010
- Beyond Legal Mechanisms – Employment, Housing and Other Related Critical Supports | Ch. 6, ISSUES WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS, 2010 Supplement, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education | Summer 2010 (with co-author, Jodina Hicks)
Why The Institute for People with Criminal Records?
Given his education and experience, Mr. Sweig considers himself one of the most fortunate, advantaged and privileged Americans with a criminal record. Mr. Sweig is disbarred on consent from the Illinois Bar since 1998 (eligible to reapply since 2001), and disbarred from the United States Supreme Court. He turned himself in and pleaded guilty to a felony for a resolved 1995 trust account violation and served a 1 yr home confinement and 48 month probation with 500 hours of community service. Read More:
