On this Friday before Memorial Day, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner decided on 151 executive clemency petitions, granting seven and denying 144. This is now Rauner's second batch of decisions, after he released his first in April.
The Governor's office has stated multiple times that they have developed a process to review petitions on a regular basis. Releasing a set of decisions in consecutive months is a good indicator that this process will result in more frequent batches of decisions. That will certainly help to finally rid Illinois of the backlog of clemency petitions that have plagued the state since the Blagojevich era.
However, the praise for the Governor must be muted when one considers the disappointingly low rate that petitions have been granted thus far. Rauner needs to show better compassion for the people of Illinois working hard to move on from a mistake made long ago. Pardons and expungements are there to help those who have proven rehabilitated and are ready to move on with their lives unencumbered by the yoke of a criminal record. How much talent are we wasting by forcing people to wear the scarlet letter of "convicted felon" their entire lives?
Congratulations to those granted a pardon today! I hope and expect to see more join you on subsequent batches of decisions.
The Governor's office has stated multiple times that they have developed a process to review petitions on a regular basis. Releasing a set of decisions in consecutive months is a good indicator that this process will result in more frequent batches of decisions. That will certainly help to finally rid Illinois of the backlog of clemency petitions that have plagued the state since the Blagojevich era.
However, the praise for the Governor must be muted when one considers the disappointingly low rate that petitions have been granted thus far. Rauner needs to show better compassion for the people of Illinois working hard to move on from a mistake made long ago. Pardons and expungements are there to help those who have proven rehabilitated and are ready to move on with their lives unencumbered by the yoke of a criminal record. How much talent are we wasting by forcing people to wear the scarlet letter of "convicted felon" their entire lives?
Congratulations to those granted a pardon today! I hope and expect to see more join you on subsequent batches of decisions.
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