Blagojevich pardons 22 people

Hours after declaring himself innocent of federal corruption charges Friday, Gov. Rod Blagojevich pardoned 22 people who had sought clemency through his office.

In a statement released by his office in Chicago, the governor pointed out that his authority to grant such executive clemency comes from the Illinois Constitution, which also is the document being cited in possible abuse of power impeachment charges against Blagojevich.

The statement said that each request for clemency is reviewed and given careful consideration.

"I am pleased to restore the rights of citizenship to these individuals. After looking at each one of these cases, it was clear that this was the right thing to do," Blagojevich said in the statement, which included the names of the people pardoned but no further information.

Pardons were given to: Shanyta Russell, Michael Gordon, Michael Tabler, Robert Eugene Smith, Lora Thomas, Constance Glass, Donald Kendall, Edward Lee Smith, Jackie Wayne Collins, Sylvia Johnson, Joel Naskiewicz, John Kidwell, Juan Linval, Katrina Raickett, Larry Pierson, Latasha Lofton, Jeffrey Nussbaum, Bret Lefever, Donald Mitchell, James Moreland, Alex May and Marcus Lyons.