Teaching degree and a felony?

i had a teaching degree in early childhood. got mixed up with wrong crowd and got forgery charges which resulted in felonies. my license to teach was taken away. that was 8 years ago. i have been in no trouble since. i don't know if its possible to get my license back.(i paid my debt) i don't even know where to go to start to find out answers. can anybody point me in the right direction. Illinois.