Governor Bruce Rauner granted seven and denied 144 clemency petitions. According to a news release, he inherited nearly 3,000 petitions from the previous administrations, dating back more than six years.
The 151 clemency petitions Governor Rauner acted upon Friday are part of dockets dating back to January 2008. Each person granted clemency has recently undergone a criminal background check through the Illinois State Police’s Law Enforcement Agencies Data System.
A granted clemency request for a pardon with expungement allows the petitioner to seek expungement of their conviction through the court system.
These are the second set of petitions the governor has reviewed since taking office. The Governor’s Office has developed a process to review clemency petitions on a regular basis.