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Governor Pritzker Granted Clemency to 29 in November

12/9/2020

8 Comments

 
In two batches of decisions in the month of November, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker granted clemency to a total of 29 individuals. Of the 29, 23 were in the form of a pardon while the remaining 6 were for commutations of sentences.

As always, congratulations to all those who receive well-deserved their clemency!
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Governor Pritzker Releases First Wave of Pardons for Cannabis Convictions

12/31/2019

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Today, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker released the first wave of pardons for misdemeanor convictions of cannabis possession. As part of the new process to automatically expunge misdemeanor cannabis cases, Pritzker granted clemency for 11,017 cases. Reportedly, there are about 572,000 total records (convictions or otherwise) eligible for automatic expungement.

The new law also allows for petitioners to seek expungement directly in the court rather than wait for the automatic process to play out. It also allows for low level felony cannabis cases to be expunged in court. Felony cases are not part of the automatic expungement process.
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Rauner Acts on 64 Clemency Petitions

5/30/2018

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The Illinois Prisoner Review Board announced that Governor Bruce Rauner released a new batch of executive clemency decisions, granting five and denying 59. Of the petitions which were granted pardons, the convictions ranged from 1977 to 2007, and included drug offenses, theft, and burglary.

Congratulations to those receiving their much-earned pardons! For those denied, keep in mind that recent changes to Illinois law may now allow for your criminal record to be sealed instead.
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President's Day Weekend Clemency Decisions Released by Governor

2/16/2018

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Today, Illinois Governor released a batch of 20 executive clemency decisions ahead of the President's Day weekend. Of the 20 decisions, six were granted and fourteen were denied. The convictions which received pardons included retail theft, burglary, battery and forgery.

Congratulations to those receiving pardons! You will now be eligible to petition the Court to have the criminal records expunged.
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Illinois Greatly Expands Eligibility For Sealing

8/24/2017

17 Comments

 
Governor Rauner signed a bill today that expands the number of cases eligible for sealing in Illinois. Previously, most misdemeanors and only a select few felonies were eligible for sealing. If you were convicted of a low-level felony that wasn't specifically eligible, then you likely could petition the Prisoner Review Board to gain sealing eligibility. For anyone not eligible for this relief, the only option was to seek clemency from the Governor.

But now with the change in the law, most felony convictions become eligible for sealing without the need for special approval. The new law takes effect immediately. If you have a case the was previously only eligible for a pardon, contact my office to see if the new law applies to you.
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13th Batch of Clemency Decision for Rauner Ahead of Thanksgiving

11/23/2016

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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!
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126 Pardon Decisions by Rauner for Labor Day Weekend

9/5/2016

16 Comments

 
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!
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"Ban the Box" Is a Good First Step

11/16/2015

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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.
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President Obama Commutes Sentences of 46 Federal Prisoners

7/13/2015

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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.
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Governor Rauner Releases 151 Clemency Decisions for Memorial Day Weekend

5/22/2015

23 Comments

 
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.
23 Comments
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    We provide criminal defense legal services in Illinois, focusing on the expungement and sealing of criminal records. 

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