Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has granted five petitions for clemency and denied 197 others. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board says the granted cases involve attempted burglary, theft and drug charges. A petitioner granted clemency is allowed to go to court to seek expungement of a criminal record. Each person granted clemency has undergone a background check.
In December, Rauner announced he'd eliminated a backlog of thousands of clemency requests inherited under previous governors. Rauner's office says the clemencies mark the 17th set of petitions the Republican has reviewed since taking office in 2015.
