Governor Rauner decides a total of 366 clemency petitions during months of September and October 2016

On October 7, 2016, Governor Rauner decided a total of 240 clemency petitions, granting 5 and denying 235. Back on September 2, 2016, Governor Rauner decided a total of 126 petitions for executive clemency, granting 8 and denying 118.  Presently, there are less than 50 petitions remaining to be decided from previous administrations.  The October 7th batch of grants included crimes such as obstruction of justice, manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and burglary while the September 2nd batch of grants included both violent and non-violent crimes such as domestic battery, aggravated battery, attempted armed robbery, burglary, criminal damage to property and deceptive practices.  A pardon with authorization to expunge a conviction categorized as a violent offense is traditionally much more difficult to obtain than an act of clemency relating to a non-violent offense; it encourages me greatly to see violent offenses included in the list of clemency grants in that Governor Rauner must be carefully considering the facts and circumstances of each individual petitioner and petition for clemency before deciding whether or not that person is deserving of this so-called “extraordinary” remedy.  People can and do change and many of us do indeed deserve a second chance sometimes.