The good news is that Governor Rauner has acted on yet another batch of clemency petitions, the fifth such group since he has taken office earlier this year. The not-so-great news is that out of the two hundred ten (210) petitions he decided, he granted only ten (10) and denied two hundred (200). While I would absolutely like to see more deserving petitions being granted by our present Illinois Governor, I will say I admire the relative speed in which he is deciding such petitions. My only hope is that deserving petitioners are not being overlooked in haste.
While I don’t yet have any details concerning what offenses have actually received pardons today, based on my previous analyses of Governor Rauner’s clemency decisions I believe it is safe to surmise that at least some very deserving petitioners were unfortunately denied relief in this recent batch of decisions. Fortunately, a petitioner who has been denied relief is able to file a new petition one (1) year after such denial and moreover, in some circumstances, that waiting period can actually be waived upon a showing of good cause. If you have been denied executive clemency, with or without authorization to expunge, please feel free to contact me for a free consultation about your case. I will give you my best professional opinion as to what went wrong and how to best go about rectifying the situation in a subsequent clemency petition.
Best wishes to all for a very happy Thanksgiving.