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* The Illinois Prisoner Review Board took heavy fire from Senate Republicans the last couple of years. But it wasn’t until the super-majority Senate Democrats sided with the SGOPs that anything started to change. From March of last year…
The Senate Executive Appointments Committee moved six appointees to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board through committee on Tuesday, but the only appointee of Gov. JB Pritzker that came for a vote before the full Senate was rejected.
The 15-member Prisoner Review Board decides on the release and conditions of release for offenders from the Illinois Department of Corrections. The governor appoints the board, the Executive Appointments Committee votes on whether to recommend those appointments, and the full Senate determines whether the members will be approved.
On Tuesday morning, PRB member Jeff Mears was recommended by the Senate Executive Appointments Committee, but by late Tuesday afternoon he failed to reach the 30-vote threshold for approval by the full Senate.
In addition to 18 Republicans who voted no, 18 Democrats did not vote. Sen. Patrick Joyce, D-Essex, joined the GOP and voted no. […]
“Republicans have set out on a mission to dismantle a constitutional function of government, just like the previous governor,” [Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh] said in a statement. “We remain committed to ensuring that highly qualified nominees fill these roles, especially because we must fulfill our constitutional obligations for justice and cannot jeopardize key public safety functions of the board like revoking parole for those who violate the terms of their release.”
* And now the Tribune reports that the PRB went from approving the parole of about 40 percent of prisoners it reviewed in 2021, to 15 percent of a similar number of cases in the ensuing 20 months. Republicans are taking credit…
Edith Crigler, a Democrat who stepped down as the board’s chairperson earlier this year, said Pritzker didn’t do enough to stand up for the board when it came under fire from Republicans, and also said she thinks the attacks have had an effect on the board’s work.
“The members on the board now are thinking more about how their vote is going to be viewed by the General Assembly, and especially by the (Senate) executive appointment committee, than the merit of the case,” said Crigler, a social worker who was appointed to the board in 2011 by then-Gov. Pat Quinn. “I’ve sat in the room with them and I’ve listened to them deliberate. And they are very, very conservative.”
Republican state Sen. Steve McClure was among those leading the charge to reject two of Pritzker’s review board appointments in early 2022. He took credit for convincing the Democratic-controlled Senate that some of the board’s decisions were problematic.
“People often ask what Republicans do in the Capitol when you don’t have many numbers,” McClure, of Springfield, said, citing the Democrats’ 40-19 advantage over Republicans in the Senate. “But this is probably our biggest accomplishment as Republicans, was turning around the PRB.”
* Emily Miller, Senior Advisor to the Governor for Policy and Legislative Affairs and an old friend of this website, rightly pointed at the Senate Democrats, who are, after all, firmly in charge of their chamber…
Some legislators got scared in the wake of the SAFE-T Act and as a result, many PRB members who had impartially reviewed all the facts of a case and determined that a person should be released became un-confirmable. The Exec branch can only do so much on our own. What a waste. pic.twitter.com/Ug2sjgljdA
— Emily Miller (@EJMill) September 18, 2023
Still on this. Getting accolades from Rs for refusing to confirm Dem nominees is weird goal for a Dem supermajority & leads to lopsided decisions. PRB members make decisions using judgement that comes from lived experience. That’s enriched by a diversity of lived experience. https://t.co/eiX24RruyK
— Emily Miller (@EJMill) September 19, 2023
Your thoughts?
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 10:04 am
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
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My thoughts are the Gov’s gonna get rolled in the Senate on ROFR and PPP vetoes. I hope Emily has the house roll calls in ship shape.
Comment by Weak side Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 10:23 am
=== “Republicans have set out on a mission to dismantle a constitutional function of government, just like the previous governor,” [Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh] said in a statement. ===
Did it take from March until September for the Gov’s office to discover the Senate has a Dem supermajority? I agree with the Governor on this criminal justice policies and would’ve liked to see his nominees confirmed. But why did it take 6 months and a Tribune article for the Governor’s legislative affairs advisor to figure out who was to blame?
Comment by vern Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 10:31 am
“I’ve sat in the room with them and I’ve listened to them deliberate. And they are very, very conservative.”
Heaven forbid.
Comment by Donnie Elgin Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 10:32 am
=== to figure out who was to blame? ===
C’mon. You really think that was a sudden revelation?
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 10:35 am
=== You really think that was a sudden revelation? ===
No, I was sarcastically saying basically what Crigler said - that the Governor wouldn’t take the Senate Dems on directly when this was a live issue. That’s a defensible business decision, gotta pick your battles. But it’s pretty feckless to level the correct criticism months after it could do any good.
Comment by vern Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 10:47 am
It’s worth remembering that the PRB was getting blowback because they were releasing genuinely awful people who had committed heinous crimes, including cop killers.
In one case, they released Ray Larsen, who was serving a 100 to 300 year sentence for murdering a 16-year-old boy in cold blood. Once Mr. Larsen was paroled, he promptly absconded and the PRB was forced to revoke his parole.
The Senate Democrats have ZERO compunction about ignoring Republicans. They’ve been doing it with gusto for years. They turned the PRB because they were making bad decisions.
Comment by Sad Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 10:47 am
Doesn’t matter if gov gets rolled in the senate. There are two chambers.
Comment by Gee Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:00 am
The admin gets criticized when they work with the Senate Dems. That meant not pushing them under the bus as they wrecked the PRB. They get critiqued when they don’t play the game and call out the sausage making bs. Real catch 22 for the gov’s office.
Good on Emily for finally calling out what happened. The gov ran against this soft on crime narrative and won handily. Dems need to be less scared of their shadow and actually stand up for what they believe in. That’s what the gov did. They should follow his lead.
Comment by lol Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:09 am
===There are two chambers.===
How many do appointment confirmations?
Don’t hurt yourself thinking on this.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:11 am
==Heaven forbid.
Except the point here is to have different voices. Some very conservative voices are good–almost all very conservative voices defeats the purpose of having a board of diverse individuals.
Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:12 am
Lots of talking points here from both sides that kind of obscure what really happened. This was caused by a highly unusual set of pandemic-related circumstances that delayed the Senate confirmation process, which led to appointments not getting called on the senate floor until *after* the appointees voted to parole some controversial figures, including a few inmates convicted of murdering police officers. That’s unfortunate because it allowed politics to intervene in a process that is best kept away from the political arena.
Though, I would add that taking a position that convicted cop killers should spend the rest of their lives in prison, particularly when no one is questioning their guilt, is not really a “right-wing-law-and-order” point of view. It’s pretty mainstream.
Comment by Temp Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:16 am
===It’s pretty mainstream.===
I would add, that’s an opinion.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:20 am
===he promptly absconded===
He was found in a hospital. He’d apparently been riding aimlessly on the CTA.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:21 am
Self-Own by the Dems - Every PRB member but one has been appointed since JB took office in 2019.
https://prb.illinois.gov/prbbdmem.html#qst1
Comment by Donnie Elgin Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:23 am
First, Emily is aces. Can’t say enough good about her.
The politics and “mainstream” want as a given, we’ve had 2 full campaign seasons where “crime” was the “end all, be all” issue and it never got to where it made the difference… in fact the far right ignoring Abortion as the most critical overshadowed this want of crime being important.
Why am I going on this path?
The disconnect to the impact of hurtful political governing is based on fear not election facts. Be it abortion, crime, and in this case the PRB.
Even the most seasoned of followers of this might not be able to remember each and every name of the members of the board, now there’s a fear a voter will know a “liberal” member now? No.
Governing is about doing the difficult and then going to the voters to make the argument.
Politics is doing the easy and letting the governing suffer because informing voters is hard work.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:28 am
Interesting to see the gov’s leg director taking shots at Dem legislators on social media. This on top of the gov’s spokesperson accusing legislators of corruption for voting for the ROFR bill a couple of weeks ago.
Comment by Anon404 Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:35 am
It’s not a victory to keep people in jail who’ve paid their debt to society and are not a threat. Second chances should be part of our life as mistakes are made and paid for through sentences that include an opportunity for future review and potential release. The Dem Senate has done significant harm here by handing this issue to the republicans on the basis of politics, not what is right or humane.
Comment by Lincoln Lad Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:42 am
My thoughts?
1. The outgoing chair of the board is not wrong when she says that the governor failed to give the board cover. That was a political decision made in the midst of a campaign, and it has lasting consequences.
2. Even if you disagree with #1, the fact the board percieives they were left hanging still holds, the comsequences and the responsibility are the same.
3. The comments of the senior policy advisor and the governor’s spox seem out-of-step. Does the governor’s office truly blame Senator Joyce? President Biden had atleast one cabinet member go down over social media posts criticizing Senators, I would be careful about getting too far out over my skis if I were staff.
4. 60-30-1, or in this case 30. At the end of the day, its the job of the governor’s staff to get his appointees across the confirmation line. Their job to convince Senator Joyce and others. Best to own the losses, shake them off, learn from them, and figure out how to do better next time.
Comment by Wheel in the Sky Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:43 am
Is it possible that PRB had gone too far and have now dialed it back a bit to a more middle of the road position. I am in favor of criminal justice reform but I’m also in favor of holding guilty people accountable for their crimes and usually that means prison.
Some folks on this blog talk about this as a purely political issue and rest of the “it hasn’t hurt us in the election” defense. But crime affects everyone and even among some of my more left-leaning friends, the situation with spiking armed robberies in many Chicago neighborhoods is an enormous problem that needs to be addressed. One of the ways to do that is to slow the revolving door that people like Kim Foxx have encouraged.
So yea, if PRB slowed their roll, whether in response to political pressure or a recognition that the scales needed to be balanced, I’m not sure why that’s a bad thing. And now that I’ve re-read her post a few times, I’m still not sure that declaring war on the folks who confirm nominees is a good long term strategy.
Comment by Southern Cynic Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:48 am
===But crime affects everyone and even among some of my more left-leaning friends, the situation with spiking armed robberies in many Chicago neighborhoods is an enormous problem that needs to be addressed. One of the ways to do that is to slow the revolving door that people like Kim Foxx have encouraged.===
The mayoral campaign with Vallas as the vessel to take down the “Left” failed. It’s been litigated and voters are not in line to your thinking.
Ignoring two election cycles with “but” is not an argument.
===I’m still not sure that declaring war on the folks who confirm nominees is a good long term strategy.===
There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.
It’s in Democratic (large D) interests to find working solutions within their party.
If you aren’t a Dem, this will be lost on you in this specific example.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:53 am
How many do appointment confirmations?=
The two chambers comment (and the one it referenced) were about veto overrides and lo and behold, both chambers have a role there. And then the commenter had to add “don’t hurt yourself…” in the most condescending way ever. I’ll never understand why this particular commenter has to be so mean. Anyway, reading is fundamental.
Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 11:54 am
===The two chambers comment===
Golly, it’s a good thing I was making a point about merely the appointments. An ongoing issue it appears, overrides as an… aside.
You ever figure out who won that Contreras argument you were having, you or you.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 12:04 pm
Emily Miller taking clear shots at Senate Dems.
What does the Gov say? Been on the Queen Mary for a vacation. These should be interesting comments when he gets home
“So anything happen while I was on vacation guys?”
Comment by Frida's boss Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 12:13 pm
I’m fascinated to learn that people have opinions about this. For years I’ve felt like I’ve been trying to flag down someone outside of this office to care about the PRB (other than advocates), but it turns out you’ve been here all along. Welcome to the public conversation, and please don’t leave it. Even if I don’t agree with you, I am glad all these commenters are paying attention.
Comment by Emily Miller Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 12:19 pm
“Acting as they should?” “Gun shy?” “Turning around the PRB….?” As an ally and person who has seen first hand the difficult decisions these PRB members face daily, to consider this a “win” for the Rs is insulting to the work of the PRB. The PRB IS a fair and impartial body. And it is my understanding that all but maybe 1 or 2 of the members are senate confirmed so the comments about the members worried about how their vote is viewed by the GA is moot. Thank you to the Governor’s office, and Lieutenant Governor’s office for always attempting to maintain the integrity of the PRB.
Comment by Ally Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 2:22 pm
“If you aren’t a Dem, this will be lost on you in this specific example.”
I’m a lifelong activist D who stands squarely in the middle of my party. But thanks for the condescension.
And with your political response to my point about public safety, I can’t tell if you’re being obtuse or you genuinely don’t understand concerns about public safety.
Just today I had lunch with another lifelong D friend who lives in Wicker Park with his wife and five YO. The massive spikes in armed robbery and other crimes which they hear about on a daily basis are making them question their decision to live in the City which they never thought they’d question. Now they’re contemplating moving out to the burbs which they very much don’t want to do. But they also don’t want to be scared about walking down the street to a restaurant. So again, this isn’t about politics. It’s about quality of life. And at the moment, quality of life has significantly deteriorated because of crime.
Comment by Southern Cynic Tuesday, Sep 19, 23 @ 5:48 pm
===I’m a lifelong activist D who stands squarely in the middle of my party. But thanks for the condescension.===
If that’s remotely accurate, then trying to justify your thoughts is laughable to the honesty of policy.
===And with your political response to my point about public safety, I can’t tell if you’re being obtuse or you genuinely don’t understand concerns about public safety.===
This is why your thought of being “who you are” is laughable to policy.
Polling and election results Rich covered specifically to, say, the Chicago mayoral, and I’ll get to your anecdotal “I know, just ask me and my friend” bit…
This link, for one… “Voters Can Do Nuance”
https://capitolfax.com/2023/04/17/turns-out-voters-can-do-nuance/
Read that to policy versus crime.
This too… “Chicago and Crime”
https://capitolfax.com/2023/01/25/chicago-and-crime/
It’s only obtuse if you want a policy without understanding the polling and political truths to where things sit.
As to “Well, I just had lunch”, kind of “I know”…
How one decides their own truth to where they live or how they live is not a policy point. Frankly, if they move or don’t move, the policy of the winner of the campaign, Mayor Brandon Johnson, will none forward. Inrush your friends well and all, but what you think is an honest look, “I know”, isn’t aligning with facts, polling, or political election truths.
It is about the politics of policy and voters choosing the politics that represent the desired policy, and in Vallas’ case, Vallas was rejected, so what exactly are you thinking about ignoring the political?
Good luck.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Sep 20, 23 @ 7:17 am