Illinois Pardon Lawyer

You got in trouble with the law when you were young, and you went to prison. Since your release, you got married, started raising a family and have been working hard.  After many years, you thought you’d earned a pardon, but when you applied, the governor refused.  Can you try again?

In Illinois, the answer is yes.  You may reapply one year after the date of your denial.  While it may appear that the first bid for a pardon is the most likely to succeed, that is not necessarily the case.  A denial the first time around does not mean an automatic no the second time. 

The Illinois Prisoner Review Board reviews petitions for pardons and makes a recommendation to the governor.  The governor will then review the case before deciding.  In many cases, the governor will follow the original recommendation. That said, the governor retains the right to refuse executive clemency for any reason that might seem appropriate. The Board and Governor’s reasons for granting or denying a pardon are kept confidential, so you may never know the exact basis for any decision.

Still, many factors may be at work. Did you apply too soon after the offense the first time? Did you have later arrests that could raise concerns?  Did you submit character reference letters?  If so, were they too general and uninspiring?  Did you adequately show how your life had turned around or why you need this pardon?  

If you wish to petition for executive clemency, an experienced pardon attorney can be a great help.  An attorney can help you prepare your petition including your personal statement, correcting weaknesses in your presentation as well as preparing you and your witnesses for hearing before the Board.  If you have questions about executive clemency, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

 It hurts to have a loved one in prison.  After many years of serving a sentence, you may be losing hope of ever seeing them again on the outside.  But many inmates do have a good chance of winning an eventual release through commuting a sentence.  The most critical ingredient in doing so: you need to have a clear plan.

To start, you will have to file a petition for executive clemency with the governor. The Illinois Prison Board of Review reviews the petition before making a recommendation to the governor.  You may choose to request a hearing before the Board to better present your loved one’s case although he or she will not be allowed to attend.  The governor then reaches a decision on the petition. 

For the best chance of success, especially for violent or repeat offenders, it is absolutely essential to show a plan for release. Will the former inmate live with you? If not, where?  Does he or she have friends who will help?  Did your loved one prepare for a career while in custody?  Has a job been lined up? Were there indications of psychological problems? If so,  have changes taken place? What are the plans for treatment after release?

All governors have heard anecdotes about pardoned individuals who go on to commit terrible crimes. Such offenders have even been used to defeat a presidential campaign.  Any governor will need a lot of reassurance before they will stick their neck out to release your inmate.  An attorney can help prepare the clemency petition to present your loved one’s situation in its most compelling light. 

If  you have questions about executive clemency, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

You have a loved one in prison. He hung out with the wrong crowd and got involved in a robbery. You want to shorten what seems like an unfair sentence. Are you looking for a commutation or a pardon?

It depends on whether your loved one has completed his or her sentence. If you want to get someone out of prison, a commutation could shorten their sentence. If your loved one has completed their sentence and cannot seal or expunge their record, they can petition for a pardon.

A commutation can be granted for health reasons or if it appears your loved one has learned from their mistakes and deserves a second chance. Note that a commutation is not an appeal. Rather than asserting your loved one is innocent or that mistakes were made at trial, a petition for commutation typically involves accepting responsibility for the underlying offense and showing how he or she has changed.

In contrast, a pardon enables the governor to nullify a conviction, one for which a sentence (in or out of prison) has already been satisfied. A pardon typically allows a defendant to expunge their criminal record, though the final order to do so will be at the discretion of a judge in the county where the case originated.

Either petition for commutation or pardon generally includes character references along with other exhibits, which are then sent to the Illinois Board of Prison Review. The Board makes a recommendation to the governor who then makes the final decision. Your loved one may ask for a public hearing before the Board. For a commutation, your loved one will not be allowed to appear in person at the hearing, but you can still testify on their behalf.

If you have questions about petitioning for a pardon or commutation, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

To get a pardon in Illinois, you must file a petition for executive clemency with the governor. Obtaining an answer to that petition could take as little as a few months, but usually takes much longer.

An attorney can prepare and file your petition for clemency in a matter of weeks, particularly if there is ample evidence that you have reformed. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board accepts petitions at all times and holds hearings four times a year. The Board then makes a recommendation to the governor, but the wait for the governor’s decision can be quite lengthy.

Once the pardon is filed, several things need to happen.  The pardon board will schedule a hearing, if you request one.  As a general rule, you should appear at a hearing in order to present your case in its most favorable light.

Next, the Board will need to agree that you have a meritorious case.  If they do vote yes, that recommendation is sent to the governor. Once the governor and his staff have received the pardon, it will be reviewed. The governor has no deadline for replying, and no reason for a refusal or approval is given.

If the pardon is granted, you may still need to petition to expunge your criminal record in the courthouse where your case took place.  If the pardon is denied, you must wait one year from the date of denial to try again.

If you have questions about obtaining a pardon or executive clemency, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

 (Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

The answer is no.  Even so, you may want to consider hiring one.

In order to file an Illinois pardon, certain critical documents are needed.  You can probably get most of these with minimal difficulty.  The harder part is writing your personal statement and explaining why you believe you need the pardon and, more importantly, why you deserve it. An attorney can help prepare your petition and help you present your life story in a compelling way.

A troubling issue for people seeking pardons is that it can be challenging to figure out what parts of your life story are more and less important.  The prison review board carefully looks over each request for pardon that comes to their office, and it can be tough to decide what is important and what can be left out.

There is also a real need to accept responsibility for your conviction.  In truth, pardons based on claims of actual innocence almost never happen unless a court has first cleared a defendant of the original conviction. And even then, a pardon is not automatic.

 If you have questions about obtaining a pardon or executive clemency, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

 (Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)