Illinois Background Checks

Health Street provides a full range of criminal background checks in Illinois, allowing companies to accurately screen job applicants before hiring. We offer a wide variety of employment screening ranging from a simple criminal database search to comprehensive investigative research of a person's criminal record, job history, credentials, and references. For quality, professional and timely background screenings, look to Health Street to provide your business with employment background checks in Illinois.

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What background checks in Illinois does Health Street offer?

Health Street's criminal background check packages always start with a Social Security Number Trace. From there, you can add specific background checks, choose from one of our most popular packages, or build your own.

Court Record Package

(starting at $99)

Search the Court Record Repository at the state or county level. This background check is an investigation of court records in the counties or states that a person has used their Social Security Number.

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Platinum Background Check Package

(starting at $175)

Includes:
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Everything in Triple Database Package plus Courthouse Repository (State and/or County level)
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Ultimate Package

(starting at $250)

Includes:
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Everything in Platinum Package plus a 10 panel drug test.
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Build Your Own Package

(prices vary)

Mix and match a variety of our background screening services to create your perfect package. This can include criminal database checks, sanctions, resume verifications, and drug testing.

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Resume Verification

(starting at $39)

Check a person's job history, degrees, references, and certifications.

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DOT Background Check

(starting at $39)

Ensure DOT compliance with our driver screening services.

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City Background Checks

For information regarding background checks in a specific city, click the relevant link below:

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Why Health Street For Illinois Background Checks?

Performing background checks in the Land of Lincoln involves knowing and following state rules and regulations which may stipulate what information can be taken into account when making hiring decisions. Requirements vary by state.

Performing background checks on your own is risky and can lead you into legal trouble. Hiring a background check company, known as a Credit Reporting Agency or CRA, is highly advisable. A credit reporting agency's job is to stay abreast of Illinois background check laws. Reputable CRA's help you avoid pitfalls such as:

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Not uncovering criminal activity
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Revealing too much information, including things that by law cannot be considered during the hiring process

The risk of uncovering too much information in a background check is significant. Laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) mandate that certain protected information cannot be considered by employers when making hiring decisions. When hiring in Illinois, it is crucial to use a CRA that understands the complexity of background check laws in Illinois.

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DOT Background Screening Services

If you are hiring truck drivers, you already know that you need to check back for three years of violations with prior companies and the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. You also have to check their Illinois motor vehicle report, of course.

Knowing and complying with these regulations can be daunting. Health Street removes the stress by conducting and storing your DOT background checks in the same, easy-to-access portal as your other driver file records. You can manage your DOT compliance and random pool in one place. We can provide you with:

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Illinois drivers license check
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Contacting prior employers from before January 2020.
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Searching the FMCSA Clearinghouse on your behalf.

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Resume Review and Verification Checks

When evaluating a job applicant, the first thing a hiring manager tends to look at is their resume. But what if the schools attended, degrees earned, job titles held, and other credentials were embellished, exaggerated, or outright fabricated? Before making that hire, you can rest easy knowing that Health Street can add resume verification to our Illinois background checks.

Resume fraud is unfortunately all too common in Illinois. Our resume verification services provide a definitive check on everything listed on your applicant's resume. This includes:

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education verification to confirm the degrees and certifications stated.
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employment history to check that they have held the jobs claimed
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professional license verification to confirm they have the certifications required.

Be sure that the person you want to hire is really who they say they are by ordering resume verification services from Health Street.

Information Specific to the State of Illinois

"Ban the Box" Laws

The Illinois Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, which went into effect in 2015, prohibits employers from inquiring about or considering a candidate's criminal background until after they've been notified of a pending interview or given a conditional offer for employment. The intention is to ensure that all candidates get an equal chance at obtaining an interview.

Some employers are exempt from this rule. This includes:

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Employers that are required under state or federal law to exclude any applicant who has a criminal history
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Positions that require a fidelity bond if a candidate's criminal history would impede them from getting one
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Positions that require licensing under the Emergency Medical Services Systems Act

Employers that do criminal background checks must also treat all employees and applicants equally to avoid being accused of employment discrimination. This would occur, for example, if a minority was denied employment based on a criminal history but a white applicant with a similar history was hired.

Special Rules for Healthcare Workers

On July 31, 2019, the Health Care Worker Background Check Act was modified to allow some applicants with a criminal record to work in the healthcare industry in the state of Illinois. The original act requires long-term care facilities and other healthcare employers to perform a fingerprint-based criminal background check and refuse to hire anyone who has a disqualifying offense that has not been waived.

Previously, individuals weren't able to request their own background checks as this could only be done by a potential employer after a conditional job offer was extended. Under the new rules, applicants can initiate their own background check. If a disqualifying offense comes up, they can begin the process of obtaining a waiver before obtaining a job offer. This improves transparency between the employer and the applicant, avoids unnecessary delays, and creates new job opportunities for many individuals who would previously have been excluded from these types of positions.

Citations

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Parks, Lauryn E. "Pre-employment screening in Illinois. Illinois State Bar Association, https://www.isba.org/sections/laboremploymentlaw/newsletter/2017/02/preemploymentscreeninginillinois
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Fishman, F. Scott. "Illinois' Job Opportunities for Qualified
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Applicants Act: Get Ready to Adjust Your Hiring Activities." Freeborn, https://www.freeborn.com/sites/default/files/freeborn_client_alert_illinois_job_opportunities_for_qualified_applicants_act_final.pdf
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"Can They Check My Credit Report When I Apply For A Job?" Illinois Legal Aid Online, https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-information/can-they-check-my-credit-report-when-i-apply-job#:~:text=Illinois%20passed%20such%20a%20law,Credit%20Privacy%20Act%20(ECPA)
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Smith, Jacalyn. "Illinois law provides individuals with arrest and conviction records employment opportunities within the health care industry." Nixon Peabody, https://www.nixonpeabody.com/en/ideas/articles/2019/08/19/illinois-law-allows-workers-with-convictions-to-work-in-health-care#:~:text=In%20relation%20to%20health%20care,has%20not%20had%20a%20previous