Governor Pritzker’s 2019 Clemency Actions Revisited and Revised

In early January, I published my first of several articles to come on Governor J.B. Pritzker uses his clemency authority.

I waited to post my article until I was confident that I had all the information about what clemency actions were taken by Gov. Pritzker in 2019. I have since learned I was wrong.

Originally, I reported that Gov. Pritzker had granted clemency to 21 individuals who went through the normal process of filing for clemency. The actual number was 24. In October 2019, three individuals were granted clemency without any public announcement.

After obtaining these additional records, I learned that if you want to reinstate your gun rights, you will need to specifically request reinstatement of your gun rights in your clemency petition. This is consistent with how Governor Quinn handled this issue.

Since December 31, 2019, the governor’s office has not released any further clemency grant or denial information. As of this date, we still don’t know if Gov. Pritzker has denied any petitions for clemency.

I know how important this information is to anyone contemplating clemency. I will make every effort to report this information as it becomes available.

In the meantime, I am always happy to speak with anyone seeking more information about the clemency process and whether they should consider petitioning for clemency. Anyone contemplating clemency is entitled to an honest appraisal. If I believe you are a good candidate for clemency, I will tell you so and why. Conversely, if I believe your chances of obtaining clemency are poor, it is no less important to me that I take the time to tell you why I believe your odds are slim.

Obtaining clemency is one of the most gratifying things I get to do as an attorney. Like any major accomplishment – seeing your favorite team win the World Series or the Super Bowl, getting into a top-tiered college, completing a 26-mile marathon -- it never gets old.