Quinn grants 50 clemency petitions

Gov. Pat Quinn has again dealt with a backlog of clemency petitions, granting 50 and denying 111 others.

A Friday statement from Quinn’s office says he continues to chip away at more than 2,500 clemency cases that built up under his predecessor, ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Quinn’s acted on 1,356 clemency petitions since taking office. He’s granted 517 and denied 839.

The statement didn’t explain why Quinn decided to grant certain petitions and not others.

Clemency has been in the spotlight since former Republican Gov. George Ryan pardoned several people on death row and commuted sentences of others before leaving office in 2003.

Quinn recently signed a bill abolishing the death penalty in Illinois and commuted the sentences of all 15 men who remained on death row.