Parole and Clemency
The Illinois Prisoner Review Board, composed of 15 members appointed by the governor, is responsible for clemency recommendations, parole decisions, and conditions of release for people leaving prison. We report on this opaque state agency and its decisions about whom to release.
Featured Story
The Joe Coleman Medical Release Act was expected to have freed hundreds of terminally ill and medically incapacitated prisoners in Illinois by now. But only a few dozen have been released, an investigation from Injustice Watch and WBEZ reveals.
Latest
Featured Project
An investigation into the slow and opaque parole process for a small group of people incarcerated for crimes from the 1970s. Our research found the Illinois Prisoner Review Board’s decisions were often arbitrary and inconsistent, and there was little oversight or accountability.
More Parole and Clemency
Illinois released white inmates at disproportionately high rates amid pandemic, report shows
State prisons now hold an even larger proportion of Black and Latinx prisoners than before COVID-19 hit, according to a new analysis.
Prisoner Review Board delays parole rehearing for two elderly inmates as COVID-19 spreads behind bars
After parole rehearings are requested for two men one vote short of winning parole, advocates fear relief may come too late.
Prisoner Review Board considers clemency for woman once sentenced to die
Marilyn Mulero pleaded guilty 26 years ago to a gang-retaliation murder and for years was under a death sentence. But on Wednesday the Illinois Prisoner Review Board considered whether to recommend that Gov. J.B. Pritzker grant Mulero clemency, based on mounting doubts about the conviction. The Cook County state’s attorney’s office argues to leave the…
Records of Illinois parole board show just how rarely inmates win release
Getting voting records of the members of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board dating back to 2013 was no easy task. Those records reveal a system in which aging prisoners locked up at least 40 years have almost no chance of winning support for their release from the board members, a majority of whom have denied…
Rauner appointee, accused of ethics violations, removed from Illinois board
Illinois Prisoner Review Board member John Clough was removed from the board amidst allegations he used a racial slur as a sheriff’s deputy and committed state ethics violations.
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.