In advance of the Thanksgiving holiday, today Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner released his 13th batch of clemency decisions. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, eight pardons were granted and over 200 were denied.

The highlight from this group of pardon decisions is Patrick McNamee, a man convicted of Reckless Homicide before going on to become a pilot in the Air Force. The Sun-Times article has more details about his interesting story.

Based on these numbers, it is likely that Gov. Rauner has completely worked through the clemency backlog that built up under former governor Rod Blagojevich and carried through to former governor Pat Quinn.

One of my clients was also included in the eight. So, congratulations to that person, to Mr. McNamee, and to the others that received their pardons today!

Illinois governor Bruce Rauner released his eleventh batch of clemency decisions ahead of Labor Day weekend. Included were eight clemency petitions granted and 118 denied. All eight clemency actions came in the form of a pardon with authorization to expunge the criminal record. The pardoned convictions included burglary, domestic battery, deceptive practice, criminal damage to property, attempted armed robbery, and aggravated battery.

According to the Governor's Office, there are fewer than 400 petitions remaining from the backlog that had built up under prior administrations.

As always, a warm congratulations goes out to all those receiving their pardons!

Yesterday, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed a bill into law which will eliminate the requirement that a person have no convictions on his record in order to expunge a case. Under the old law, a conviction for even the smallest infraction (for example, a fine on a ticket for underage drinking) would mean that a person could not expunge anything else from his criminal record, even if those charges were dropped.

Although that person could have sealed the dismissed case, there are certain circumstances where an expungement is necessary for furthering someone's goals. Now, the law will determine the eligibility to expunge based solely on the case itself, rather than also on the person.

The new law will also waive the filing fees for many expungement petitions in Cook County during 2017. Petitioners in Cook County will not have to pay filing fees when the case(s) sought to be expunged resulted in acquittal or dismissal. This provision is set to expire at the end of 2017.

This afternoon, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner released his tenth batch of executive clemency decisions ahead of the 4th of July weekend. For this batch, Rauner decided on 157 petitions, granting seven and denying 150. Of the seven granted, six came in the form of pardon with authorization to expunge, while the other was a commutation of sentence. According to the governor's office, roughly 500 petitions remain in the backlog from previous administrations.

Congratulations to those receiving clemency, and happy Independence Day to all!

According to Michael Sneed of the Chicago Sun-Times, former U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. recently sent a letter to Chicago Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) criticizing Beale’s proposed ordinance to add regulation for rideshare companies Uber and Lyft. Beale’s proposed ordinance would, among other things, mandate drivers for Uber and Lyft to submit to fingerprint background checks.
 
Holder posits that the fingerprint-based background check can have a discriminatory impact on communities of color. He notes that the FBI records from which the fingerprint checks are drawn are often incomplete and do not always show the results of the arrest. Because people of color are statistically more likely to pick up an arrest, their communities would be disproportionately impacted, even when (as is often the case) those arrests do not result in a conviction.
 
I support Holder’s criticisms. In my work, people often come to me with their FBI records looking for an expungement or sealing. It is actually relatively rare for the records to comprehensively contain all the information about what happened in a case. They can be a good starting point for me to figure out what is on a person’s record, but they are mostly worthless for determining eligibility to expunge or seal because they so often don’t list the outcomes of the cases.
 
The ironic part of this is that Uber and Lyft already perform background checks on potential drivers. Many clients have come to me needing to expunge or seal their record specifically because they didn’t pass the background check for these companies. The difference though is that those background checks are designed for employment purposes and therefore typically obtain the disposition information.

President Barack Obama recently issued an executive order requiring federal agencies to "delay inquiries into criminal history until later in the hiring process." The "Ban the Box" order does away with the question on federal job applications asking if the applicant has been convicted of a felony. Many employers use this question as one of the initial filters to sift through applications. As a result, many talented applicants are dropped because of a blemish on their criminal record, no matter how old.

By banning the box, those individuals would at least have the chance to get their foot in the door. Background checks would still be performed on the candidates, but not until after they have already made an impression on those hiring.

In Rex Huppke's column in the Chicago Tribune, he does a great job laying out why banning the box is good, but more is needed. By taking more pro-active steps to help rehabilitated people get employment, we can reduce recidivism and get talented people into positions which need them. Society is helped twice over. Illinois lawmakers have recognized this fact, and have begun implementing some steps. President Obama's executive order will hopefully serve to extend this understanding to the national stage.

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner released 170 executive clemency decisions on this Friday before Labor Day weekend. He granted seven petitions and denied 163. This is Governor Rauner's fourth set of petitions since taking office. According to the Governor's office, nearly 1,500 petitions remain in the backlog built up under previous administrations.

As always, congratulations to those that were granted clemency! For those that were denied or are still pending, don't give up hope! Your chance may still come.

A change in the Illinois law governing criminal record sealing was made this week which will allow a person to bypass the waiting period to seal if he or she furthers their education. The bill passed both houses in May and was signed into law by Governor Rauner on Monday. It will take effect on January 1, 2016.

Previously, anyone convicted of an offense had to wait four years from the termination of their last sentence to seal the case (if it is an eligible offense). Under the new law, the defendant may petition to seal the records as soon as the sentence terminates if he or she obtained a new diploma, degree, certification, or GED during the time of their sentence, aftercare release, or mandatory supervised release. If the sealing petition is denied by the court, then the normal waiting periods apply for refiling in the future.

This is a good change as it will help those with a conviction more easily avoid the stigma of having a criminal record. The purpose of the waiting period is to allow enough time for the defendant to establish their rehabilitation. Clearly, someone who furthers their education is taking the steps to become a more productive member of society. I often encounter clients who are wary of completing their education program because of their criminal record. Why rack up more loans/tuition fees when it is unlikely that you will be hired in your field of study after a background check? Now, those people will be incentivized to further their education, which not only helps the individuals but also the economy of Illinois as well.

Just as the Governor has the power to grant executive clemency for individuals convicted at the state level, the President can offer clemency to those convicted at the federal level. Today, President Obama exercised that power by commuting the sentences of 46 federal prisoners. The individuals receiving the commutations were non-violent drug offenders sentenced under the old and absurdly harsh drug laws. According to video released by the President, nearly all of those receiving clemency would have completed their sentences already, had they been convicted under today's laws.

Last year, President Obama announced an initiative to offer clemency to the non-violent drug offenders convicted under the old laws. With today's batch, Obama has now commuted the sentences for 89 prisoners, the vast majority of whom applied under that initiative.

Commutation of sentence is a form of executive clemency which reduces or terminates a sentence that an individual is currently serving. This differs from a pardon, which is granted after the sentence is completed and serves as forgiveness from the state or country.