Pritzker faces questioning on prison sentence commutations

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois Senate Republicans are calling for greater communication from the governor's office when he commutes prison sentences, but Gov. JB Pritzker has not indicated he will make any voluntary changes to the process, which is spelled out in state law and also goes through the state Prisoner Review Board.

The Chicago Tribune reported Pritzker commuted 17 sentences between March 11 and April 9. Another two commutations were conducted on April 13, according to the Prisoner Review Board.

"We have learned through the media that you have reduced the sentences of some violent criminals, including seven or more convicted murderers," eight Senate Republicans wrote in a letter to the governor on April 16. "We are concerned that you have done so without informing the victims, their families, witnesses who testified against them, local law enforcement leaders, the judges who decided their sentences, or members of the General Assembly. Are all of these commutations because of the COVID-19 crisis? We believe that the public deserves to know."

Pritzker did not directly respond Saturday to a question as to whether recent commutations were related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Illinois Constitution states, "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."

Pritzker pointed out Saturday that all cases also go through the Prisoner Review Board process.

"So I just want to be clear that those go through the PRB," he said. "So they actually have a presentation of each case at the PRB, they vote on those cases before they ever get to my desk."

The review board is an independent body made up of members appointed by the governor. Itimposes release conditions, revokes and restores good conduct credits, and conducts parole hearings. It also notifies victims and their families when an inmate is about to be released from custody and makes confidential recommendations to the governor regarding executive clemency petitions.

But the Senate Republicans said the information about releases from prison should be publicly viewable in an online database and Pritzker should personally reach out to victims' families, local law enforcement leaders, members of the General Assembly, presiding judges, witnesses, and state's attorneys' offices "before making any future commutation decisions."

"We don't even know everyone that they're releasing," Springfield Republican Sen. Steve McClure, who co-signed the letter to the governor, said in a phone call. "So we are not even getting the information. It is not just something that we need so that we know whether or not this is the right thing to do, but also for the safety of the public, particularly ... victims, people who testified against these people."

House Republican John Cabello, of Machesney Park, was also critical. He accused the governor of undermining the criminal justice system in "an unbelievable attempt to protect these prisoners from the coronavirus" as he released the names of 13 recently released prisoners last week.

Prison reform and civil rights groups, however, have praised the actions on medical furloughs and commutations and even called for greater release of at-risk prisoners in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Releasing prisoners from these settings improves safety for other detainees, people who work in the corrections system as guards and administrators and also helps protect the communities where Illinois prisons are located," Colleen Connell, executive director of the ACLU of Illinois, said in a statement. "The people who are being released have served time - some of them years. The release of these names is not another opportunity to create faux outrage and perpetuate a criminal legal system that too often confuses being tough with being smart."