Good News Still in Short Supply for Those Seeking Clemency Relief in Illinois
Question:
Is Gov. Pritzker on track to equal or exceed the number of clemency petitions decided in recent years?
Bullet Points:
Since the end of May, Gov. Pritzker has granted a single sentence commutation.
Unlike previous years, Gov. Pritzker has not denied any clemency petitions (pardon or sentence commutation).
At the current rate, Gov. Pritzker could end up ruling on the fewest clemency petitions since his first year in office (2019).
In June, I reported that six months into the year Gov. J.B. Pritzker had granted 65 pardons and no sentence commutations.
Earlier this week, I learned that since I last sought clemency data, the governor had only signed off on one petition: a sentence commutation request for a 2001 murder conviction. This petition had been pending since 2020.
Unlike the previous five years, where the governor denied a significant number of petitions (mostly sentence commutation requests), no clemency petitions have been denied so far this year. During the previous five years (2020-2024), Gov. Pritzker decided an average of 575 petitions a year.
At the current rate, Gov. Pritzker could end the year ruling on the fewest number of clemency petitions since his first year in office (2019). That year, he only decided 29 petitions.
Because the Illinois Prisoner Review has not published an annual report since 2022, one can only estimate how clemency petitions have been filed/reviewed by the Board since 2023. It is possible that as many as 3,000 or more petitions are pending review by the governor.
Given recent events in Illinois, I understand Gov. Pritzker’s plate is runneth over. That said, the governor has a dedicated staff who assist him in reviewing clemency petitions and making grant/denial recommendations. The two previous governors (Governors Quinn and Rauner) did not employ in-house staff to assist with them with this function. I strongly urge Gov. Pritzker to make full use of his in-house clemency staff.
Again, I urge Gov. Pritzker to prioritize clemency petitions that have been filed by those men and women who, due to their immigration status, need a full and unconditional pardon. A full pardon is the only foolproof (non-appealable) means of cancelling an order of removal (deportation).
Based on the website Ice Tracker, ICE has arrested 33,005 individuals in Chicago.[1] Of that number, 34.5% (11,389) were arrested because of a criminal conviction. (viewed on Oct. 16, 2025)
One cannot help but wonder: Did any of those arrested have a pending pardon petition?
[1] It is not clear if these numbers only include arrests made in Chicago proper or made in Chicago, as well as suburban Cook County.