Has the Road to Clemency Reached a Dead End? Illinois’ Clemency Report Card for 2024

The last time I wrote about clemency was in June of 2024. At that time, I anticipated 2024 was not going to be a “banner year” for clemency rulings due to the impending presidential election. I take no pleasure in being able to say, “I told you so.”

In actuality, I would have rather been told that each of my (three) clients -- whose pardon petitions have been pending since 2021 and 2022 – were granted clemency. But that did not happen for any of my client or, for that matter, the other 2,100+ individuals waiting for Gov. J.B. Pritzker to rule on their petition.

Is Gov. Pritzker Taking a Page Out of Gov. Blagojevich’s Clemency Playbook?

Last year may stand out as the worst year for clemency in Illinois since the days when then Gov. Rod Blagojevich held the clemency pen.

Few clemency decisions were issued during Blagojevich’s six years in office.[1] By the time he was removed from office in 2009, Blagojevich left behind more than 2,500 pending clemency petitions -- some dating back to 2005. Sound familiar?

In 2024, Gov. Pritzker denied 496 and granted only six clemency petitions. That translates into an overall grant rate of .01%. Only two pardon requests were granted. The remaining grants were sentence commutation requests. Only one sentence commutation resulted in a petitioner’s release from prison. The other three had their sentences commuted from life to “parole eligible.”   

By comparison, in 2023, Gov. Pritzker denied 554 petitions, while granting 28 pardons and 15 sentence commutations. His overall clemency grant rate in 2023 was 7.7%.

Can Clemency in Illinois Rebound in 2025?

Unlike his two immediate predecessors, Gov. Pritzker has no established pattern with respect to how or when he uses his clemency power.

For those who regularly represent individuals seeking clemency (pardon or sentence commutation), the lack of continuity from year to year has been incredibly frustrating. How can one temper a client’s expectations when it is impossible to predict how long the process (from filing to decision) will take? That was something I used to be able to do under previous administrations. Not anymore.

What is further confounding is that Gov. Pritzker does not rule on petitions in the order they are filed. I have petitions pending since mid-2021. Yet, when I look at the petitions denied in 2024, they were filed between April 2022 and October 2023.

In a revealing article published in The Appeal last year, its author, Shawn Mulcahy, explored several issues plaguing the Illinois Prisoner Review Board (PRB) in recent years. The PRB is the administrative arm of the clemency process. The article also addressed the current backlog of clemency petitions and how it feels for someone to have to wait years for a clemency decision from the governor.

Despite the governor’s declining clemency rulings, the governor’s spokesperson insisted that Gov. Pritzker was still a “leader in taking clemency action, with numbers of petitions considered and petitions granted significantly exceeding governors in other states.”[2]

At the same time touting the governor’s clemency record, the spokesperson was forced to acknowledge that as of October 8, 2024 there were close 2,100 petitions pending -- many of them going back to 2021. https://theappeal.org/pritzker-illinois-parole-pardons-board-prb/

Should Illinois Overhaul its Clemency Process?

A year ago, I came across two articles about clemency on the website for Collateral Consequences Resource Center (CCRC) website. Both articles got me thinking back then whether there might be a better way to process clemency requests.  

Looking back on what occurred in 2024, I’ve concluded that if Illinois were to have a truly robust clemency/pardon process, it would have to replace the current governor-centric decision-making model with one that does not rely on a single person (the governor) to make the decision. https://ccresourcecenter.org/?s=pardon

According to the CCRC’s 50-State Summary of pardon policies, the states that have the most robust pardon system rely on one of two models: 1) an independent board to make pardon decisions, or 2) an independent board that shares power with the governor in making pardon decisions.

With respect to the second model – where pardon authority is shared – this system takes several forms: 1) the governor has a seat on the independent board and casts a vote; 2) the independent board serves as “Gatekeeper,” meaning absent a recommendation from the board, the governor does not have the power to issue a pardon; and 3) the governor is mandated to consult with the board before issuing a pardon. https://ccresourcecenter.org/state-restoration-profiles/50-state-comparisoncharacteristics-of-pardon-authorities-2/

Currently, six states rely on the independent board model: Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, South Carolina, and Utah. In these states, the pardon grant rate far exceeds 50%.

A majority of states (22) rely on the independent board-governor shared decision-making model. Within this category, most states (10) rely the “Gatekeeper” model. They include: Arizona, Delaware, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Texas. The model that Illinois uses – where the governor holds sole pardon authority – is the second most common pardon process (9).[3]

Among the Gatekeeper group, CCRC identified Pennsylvania and Delaware as its “stars.” Based on the most recent information posted on the CCRC website, Delaware has a grant rate of 80% (averaging more than 400 pardons a year). Pennsylvania grants between 200 and 250 pardons a year.

Could the clemency process be overhauled in Illinois? Yes, but it wouldn’t be easy due to the fact the governor’s clemency powers is enshrined in the state’s Constitution.[4] There are only two ways in which to amend the state constitution in Illinois: 1) convene a constitutional convention to amend the constitution, or 2) place a legislative-initiated constitutional amendment on the ballot. The last time Illinois held a constitutional convention was in 1969-70. Since 1970, there has been no amendment made to the state’s constitution through a legislative ballot amendment process.

The Wear and Tear of Waiting

Last year, I learned that one of my clemency client’s needs a kidney/ pancreas transplant within the next or two. Without a transplant, he will require kidney dialysis for the rest of his life -- a grueling three-day a week routine.

I offered the only assistance I could: I sent a letter to Gov. Pritzker, detailing my client’s deteriorating health. I concluded my letter with a simple plea: please rule on my client’s clemency petition before the end of the year. I never received a response to my letter -- not that I expected one.

I’ve been representing clemency candidates for more than a decade. I see how the waiting game leaves clients and their loved ones stressed and emotionally drained. I can’t help but share in those feelings.

For those seeking clemency, it must feel like a fly suspended in amber.

[1] It’s difficult to ignore the irony in Blagojevich’s lack of concern for those seeking clemency during his tenure, given his own fortunes in securing both a sentence commutation and, just recently, a full pardon from President Trump. To his credit, Blagojevich did apply for said relief through the normal channels established for seeking a presidential pardon.

[2] It would have been helpful to know which governor(s) or state(s) the governor’s spokesperson was comparing his boss to.

[3] Although the CCRC lists Illinois as a state with a “Frequent/Regular” pardon process, that description relies on data from Gov. Pritzker’s first two years in office. That term ended in 2022.

At the end of his first term, the governor granted 225 pardons (12.4%).  By contrast, Gov. Pritzker has granted only 30 pardons in the past two years (2023-2024) – clearly, a considerable decline from his first term numbers. The current information on CCRC’s website gives the false impression that the clemency process is alive and kicking in Illinois.

[4]  IL Const. Art. 5, Sec. 12: “The Governor may grant reprieves, commutations and pardons, after conviction, for all offenses on such terms as he thinks proper. The manner of applying therefore may be regulated by law.”