Unlike his two predecessors, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has managed to defy being pigeon-holed with respect to his clemency authority use.

Early on, Gov. Pritzker Didn’t Fear Flexing His Clemency Muscle

During his first two years in office (which included the first year of the COVID pandemic), Gov. Pritzker’s clemency pardon grant numbers suggested he would exceed Gov. Pat Quinn’s grant rate of just over 30%.

In the first year of COVID, the governor also issued an unprecedented number of sentence commutations. I was among those returning citizen advocates to applaud Gov. Pritzker’s willingness to take the heat for commuting prison sentences. Regrettably, he did not commute the sentences of the two individuals I represented in 2020.

The last time Gov. Pritzker granted a sentence commutation was in April 2021. I wouldn’t bet on Gov. Pritzker commuting additional sentences in his second term if the rumors are true he is eyeing a run for president in 2024.

Illinois Weathered a Clemency Grant Drought in 2022

Last year, I had three clemency pardon clients waiting for a decision. I did my best to tap down their expectations on obtaining a decision, given that the governor was running for reelection. Two months into 2023, these petitions remain pending.

Governor Pritzker granted few petitions in 2022. In all, he issued 11 pardons, no sentence commutations, and denied 547 clemency petitions. Because the Prisoner Review Board (“PRB”) does not identify whether a denial was a sentence commutation or pardon request, I’m still going through the data in hopes of identifying how many of the 2022 denials were pardons versus sentence commutations. So far, it appears that the vast majority of last year’s denials were sentence commutations.     

After one client’s clemency pardon petition had been pending more than year (from his PRB hearing), his sister reached out to me and lamented that she hoped Gov. Pritzker would grant her younger brother’s a pardon during their mother’s “lifetime so she will be at peace.”

I understand (and share) my clients’ frustration. For many petitioners, their lives, their future plans are “on hold” while they wait for a decision.

What Can We Expect from Gov. Pritzker in 2023?

I can’t predict whether Gov. Pritzker will re-dedicate himself to both reviewing and granting clemency petitions in 2023. As I noted at the outset, he’s defied being labelled pro or anti-clemency. What I can say is that, in the interim, other governors have stepped into the clemency limelight.

According to the Collateral Consequences Resource Center’s end-of-year report, The Frontiers of Dignity: Clean Slate and Other Criminal Record Reforms 2022, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers pardoned 325 people in 2022 and 600 during the previous 30 months. Like Gov. Pritzker, Gov. Evers was up for reelection in 2022 and won.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson granted 360 pardons and 18 commutations over a 23-month period (December 2020 to October 2022). Former Virginia Ralph Northam issued 1,200 pardons during his one term in office.

For the sake of my clients and the hundreds of other clemency claimants, I hope Gov. Pritzker (and his staff) will recommit to helping those who’ve earned the right for a second chance.