2025 Illinois Clemency Report Card (Jan.- May) (… And a Call to Action)
Question:
Has Gov. Pritzker exercised his clemency authority this year (2025)?
Bullet Points:
Through the first five months of the year, Gov. Pritzker has issued 64 pardons.
No sentence commutations have been issued during the same period.
No pardon or sentence commutation have been denied.
FOID card reinstatement requests are 0 for 24 this year.
Clemency petitioners can expect to wait on average 3 to 5 years (or longer) for a decision from the governor.
If Gov. Pritzker decides not to run for reelection in 2026, given the current backlog of cases he's likely to leave hundreds of pending petitions behind.
Twice a year I submit FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board (PRB) to obtain clemency (pardon and sentence commutation) data. Last year there was little to celebrate if you (or someone you know) had a pending pardon petition.
With Gov. J.B Pritzker understandably preoccupied last year (e.g., serving on President Biden’s reelection committee, hosting the Democratic Party Convention, etc.), it won’t take much for him to better his 2024 clemency stats.
Gov. Pritzker Turns on the Pardon Spiggot (Following Last Year’s Drought)
Through the end of May, Gov. Pritzker reportedly issued 65 pardons and no sentence commutations. During this same period, there were no pardon or sentence commutation denials. All of the pardons were issued with permission to expunge, a routine practice.
Among the pardons granted, the vast majority were for felonies (67). Pardons were also issued for a handful of misdemeanor convictions (9) and non-convictions (8). None of the offenses were ineligible to seal.
The offenses covered (by the pardons) fall into four main categories. 1) drug offenses (>30%), 2) theft or fraud offenses (>25%), 3) crimes involving interactions with law enforcement (obstructing justice) and burglary (each 14%).
FOID Card Restoration Requests Continue to Face Daunting Odds
As I first reported in 2021, Gov. Pritzker remains opposed to reinstating gun rights. In the few cases (7) where he has reinstated gun rights, one should assume that the petitioner sought a “full” pardon for immigration purposes.[1]
None of the recent pardon grantees (24) who asked for their gun rights to be reinstated received them. One petitioner previously applied but only received a pardon with permission to expunge.[2]
Backlog of Pending Clemency Petitions Could Outlast Gov. Pritzker’s Tenure
As Gov. Pritzker ponders whether to run for a third term (next year) or step aside and run for president (in 2028), it is very possible he will leave behind hundreds -- possibly thousands -- of undecided petitions. This happened following Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s tenure.
After serving 6½ years in office, Gov. Pritzker has amassed a staggering backlog of clemency petitions. Taking a look at the recent batch of pardon grants (and those still pending), a majority of petitioners have been waiting three to five years or more for Gov. Pritzker to issue a decision.
Among the petitions granted so far this year, 19% were filed in 2020, 42% in 2021, and nearly 37% in 2022. Some petitions have been pending since 2019 -- Gov. Pritzker’s first year in office.
Making the Case for Prioritizing Clemency Rulings for Petitioners Whose Only Remedy is Clemency
The current state of affairs calls to mind the old adage: Justice delayed is justice denied. That does not overstate the problem if clemency is the only way someone can clear their criminal background.
There is no way to estimate how many petitioners fall into this category. What can be said is that they include anyone who: 1) has a conviction that can’t be sealed; 2) needs a pardon for immigration purposes; or 3) is barred from going into a field of study because s/he can’t seal their conviction.
Currently, I represent two individuals who are seeking pardons for immigration purposes. One filed his petition in July 2021 and the other in January 2025. Both urgently need a pardon now -- not in four or five years. Under the Trump Administration’s current immigration regime, both of my clients could be targeted for deportation. Both have lived in this country since they were children.
Since President Trump returned to office, I’ve spoken several times with my client from 2021. With an air of resignation, he’s accepted the fact that ICE agents could take him into custody without warning and put him on a plane to a country he’s never set foot on. My client is the father of school-aged children. He has a good job and is his family’s sole bread winner. Of course, none of that matters to ICE officials.
Unfortunately, there is no mechanism to force Gov. Pritzker’s hand. That would require amending the state’s Constitution. At this point, my only hope is that someone on the governor’s clemency staff will recommend that he start prioritizing the backlog of petitions based on “need.”
As an example, individuals seeking a pardon for immigration purposes would be placed on the top of the pile. Likewise, anyone whose only remedy is clemency should be given priority.[3]
Final Thoughts
Have you ever left a phone message (or text) for someone with whom you were hoping to rekindle a friendship? Even though you knew the odds of the person responding were 50-50, I think we all would be disappointed if the person never responded.
No one files for clemency thinking: What if I never get a ruling from the governor? That, however, is how many clemency petitioners feel as another month, then year, goes by without a decision.
I know Gov. Pritzker is a busy man. Presumably, that’s why he assembled a staff dedicated to helping him decide when/how to exercise his clemency authority. I want to believe Gov. Pritzker has compassion for those who need a helping hand.
Only the governor has the authority to grant clemency (forgiveness) in Illinois. Now more than ever, we need him to put pen to clemency paper.
[1] Under federal immigration law, a state or federal pardon can halt deportation proceedings, provided the individual obtains a pardon restoring all rights lost as a consequence of their conviction. All felonies, in addition to a handful of misdemeanors convictions, will result in the loss of one’s Second Amendment rights.
[2] Only 64 of the 65 grantees are new pardon recipients.
[3] Gov. Pritzker has not ruled on petitions in chronological order (oldest to newest). How he (and his staff) select which petitions to rule on (and in what order) is a mystery.