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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

  
 
2    WHEREAS, Clemency has been authorized in the United States 
3since the Constitutional Convention of 1787, when the clause 
4granting the President the power to issue pardons and reprieves 
5was first adopted as part of the United States Constitution; 
6and
  
 
7    WHEREAS, The power to grant clemency in the State of 
8Illinois has been in effect since the formation of the first 
9Illinois State Constitution in 1818; and
  
 
10    WHEREAS, Clemency is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as 
11mercy or leniency, usually used to describe acts of the 
12President of the United States or a Governor of a state when 
13pardoning a convicted criminal or commuting a sentence; and
  
 
14    WHEREAS, Clemency encompasses a number of forms of mercy by 
15the executive and generally includes pardons, commutations of 
16sentence, and reprieves, among others; and
  
 
17    WHEREAS, A pardon is an act of the executive power that 
18mitigates the punishment demanded by the law for the offense 
19and restores some or all of the rights and privileges lost as a 
20result of the offense; and
  
 
 
 
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1    WHEREAS, A commutation of sentence occurs when the 
2executive power changes the punishment of the convicted to one 
3that is less severe; and
  
 
4    WHEREAS, A reprieve occurs when the executive power 
5temporarily withdraws the sentence for the purpose of 
6postponing the punishment; and
  
 
7    WHEREAS, Section 3-3-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections 
8creates the Prisoner Review Board, the board of review and 
9recommendation for the exercise of executive clemency by the 
10Governor of Illinois; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Section 3-3-13 of the Unified Code of Corrections 
12states that petitions seeking pardon, commutation of sentence, 
13or reprieve shall be addressed to the Governor in writing and 
14signed by the person under conviction or by a person on his 
15behalf, and filed with the Prisoner Review Board; and
  
 
16    WHEREAS, Petitions seeking pardon, commutation of 
17sentence, or reprieve must include a brief history of the case, 
18the reasons that the petitioner is seeking executive clemency, 
19and other relevant information as required by the Prisoner 
20Review Board; and
  
 
21    WHEREAS, The Prisoner Review Board shall, if requested and 
 
 
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1upon due notice, give a hearing to each application, allowing 
2representation by counsel, if desired, after which it shall 
3confidentially advise the Governor by a written report of its 
4recommendations, which shall be determined by majority vote; 
5and
  
 
6    WHEREAS, The Governor shall decide each application and 
7communicate his decision to the Prisoner Review Board, which 
8shall notify the petitioner; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn has granted 
10approximately 1,113 petitions for executive clemency and has 
11denied approximately 1,934 petitions; and
  
 
12    WHEREAS, Currently, there remains an outstanding amount of 
13undecided petitions that have been addressed to the Governor 
14and filed with the Prisoner Review Board for review; therefore, 
15be it
  
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
17NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
18we urge the Prisoner Review Board to review any outstanding 
19petitions for executive clemency with all deliberate speed and 
20forward the appropriate written reports of its recommendations 
21to the Governor; and be it further
  
 
 
 
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1    RESOLVED, That we urge the Governor of Illinois to decide 
2each application and communicate his decision to the Board with 
3all deliberate speed; and be it further
  
 
4    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be 
5delivered to the Chair of the Prisoner Review Board and 
6Governor Pat Quinn.