Democrats Reject a Pritzker Parole Board Nominee, Other Confirmations in Doubt
A Senate committee advanced two of Governor JB Pritzker’s Prisoner Review Board nominations to the Senate floor without a positive recommendation, while the full Senate rejected another nominee Tuesday.
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One of Governor JB Pritzker’s nominees for the state Prison Review Board was shot down by the full Senate Tuesday and another two are in jeopardy, failing to gain a positive vote from a Senate committee.
The Prisoner Review Board, which includes decisions on parole for inmates, has been a topic of Republican complaints for months as Pritzker’s nominees served without Senate approval for as many as three years. There have been concerns among Senate Democrats to approve some of Pritzker’s nominees that released violent criminals in an election year when crime is at the top of mind of many voters.
The logjam appeared to break last week when Pritzker pulled the nomination of Max Cerda last week, a convicted felon who had previously voted to release a person from prison who he spent time in custody with.
The full Senate Tuesday voted down the appointment of Jeff Mears, a former Department of Corrections employee. He was criticized by Republicans for his votes to parole a woman convicted of killing her children. All 18 Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Patrick Joyce (D-Essex), voted against the nomination, but 16 Democrats sat out the vote, dooming the nomination.
The Senate Executive Appointments Committee Tuesday advanced the nominations without a positive recommendation of Oreal James, a restorative justice mediator and former aide to Attorney General Kwame Raoul as well as the nomination of Eleanor “Kay” Wilson, a consultant to social justice and nonprofit organizations.
Mears was the only nominee to receive a vote Tuesday, but Democrats said it is the “intent” to bring the other nominees to the floor next week.
Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield), one of the top Republicans challenging Prisoner Review Board nominees, said it is important for the public to know about the decisions the nominees have made.
“I’m glad that we were able to bring this controversy to light so that these appointees could be properly vetted by the Senate,” he said in a statement to The Illinoize Tuesday night. “At the same time, it’s disappointing that so many of the PRB members have been able to serve and take votes for this long without being approved. I hope that we have convinced the Governor and the Senate Democrats to stop playing games with the appointment process.”
Governor JB Pritzker’s spokesperson told the Chicago Tribune Tuesday the GOP was attempting to sabotage the process.
In a prepared statement following Tuesday’s vote, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh praised Mears for his experience in de-escalation and crisis intervention as a hostage negotiator while working downstate at the Shawnee Correctional Center, and said the Republicans have sought to “dismantle a constitutional function of government.”
“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,” Abudayyeh said.
But, as we already told you, numerous suburban and downstate Senate Democrats are nervous about approving nominees with voting records pointing to the release of violent criminals, and those fears could leave Pritzker’s nominees on the losing end.
