As we all know it is often difficult to find jobs for felons in Chicago. Our organization, Help For Felons,  is here to support and help felons by providing unique, up to date and relevant information about issues involving felons like jobs.

If you know of any employers that will hire felons in Chicago or the surrounding please Contact Us. Thank you for the help and good luck on finding a job!

The unfortunate reality is that there are very few jobs for felons in Chicago that we can list here. While there may not be that many jobs we are going to try and give you every resource available in Chicago to find employment

Teamwork Englewood

Teamwork Englewood has a reentry resource center that provides job assistance to all felons through job workshops and direct placement. They know who will hire you and who wont. This is an “on the ground resource” that can help any felon find a job in Chicago.

815 W. 63rd Street, Suite 2
Chicago, IL 60621
[email protected]

Online Jobs For Felons (No Background Check)

Temp agencies that hire felons in Chicago

There are many temp agencies in Chicago that will hire felons. Not every job they offer will be felon friendly but it is a great way to search through many jobs at one time. Staffing/Temp agencies  will often have 20, 30 or even 50 openings at various employers throughout Chicago. The shear volume of jobs gives you a decent chance at finding a job.

Here is a list of temp agencies in chicago:

• City Staffing
• Elite Staffing
• Aerotek
• Advanced Resources
• LaSalle Network
• The Creative Group
• Smart Staffing
• Spherion

Please also check out our list of nationwide  staffing agencies that may have jobs for felons.

Manufacturing and Labor jobs

• DAP Products – Production positions only

Hospitality and Restaurants

• Baskin-Robbins
• Best Western
• McDonald’s – Since Mcdonald’s is a franchise hiring policies vary depending on the store (not all locations will hire felons). More information can be found in our article “does Mcdonalds hire felons?“
• Embassy Suites

Retail Jobs

• Smart Resources –  Must be able to pass a felony and misdemeanor going back 7 years. Smart Resources is a boutique staffing firm specializing in the placement of Customer Service.
• JPMorgan –  Note that any felony conviction within the last seven years will disqualify you from consideration for this positions.
• Goodwill – A great organization that hires and trains felons.
• Target – Depends on length of time since conviction and type of felony.
• Walmart –  Depends on length of time since conviction and type of felony. More information about walmart here.

Transportation Jobs

• Budget Rent-A-Car – No theft convictions
• American Air – Gate Agents
• Alamo Rent a Car – No theft convictions
• Southern Refrigerated Transport  – Felonies are reviewed by management on a case by case basis. Must have current CDL license.
• Dayton Freight Lines – No felonies in the past 7 years. No DUI, Citation/Conviction for Reckless Operations in the past 3 years. Must have CDL.

Interested in becoming a truck driver? Find out more information here!

These organizations specialize in placing felons into jobs around the Chicago area and the state of Illinois. Sometimes this is the best option to find companies that hires felons. These organizations have very good, close working relationships with different businesses that will hire you without a problem.

• National H.I.R.E. Network/Legal Action Center – Helps with finding jobs for felons
• Chicago Jobs Council – Specializes in finding jobs for low income and ex-offenders/felons
• Resource Directory of Reentry Friendly Services and Housing – Links and information about felon friendly jobs and housing.
• Safer Foundation – Helps felons find jobs in the Chicago Area.
• Goodwill – A great organization that hires and trains felons.

Background Check Limits in Illinois

It is important to understand that some states have laws regarding how far back a criminal background check can go. Unfortunately Illinois does not limit the years an employer can search your criminal history. Here are the laws for other states if you are thinking about relocating.

Twelve states do not allow any felony conviction information older than seven years to be reported.

• California
• Colorado*
• Kansas*
• Maryland*
• Massachusetts
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire*
• New York *
• Texas *
• Washington*

(* exceptions based on pay/salary)

Some states will not report court cases where you were found NOT guilty: Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Alaska, California, New York and Michigan.

These states will report unlimited numbers of years back of felony convictions and also report NOT guilty verdicts: Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.