Senate rejects Prisoner Review Board appointee

SPRINGFIELD — The Senate Executive Appointments Committee moved six appointees to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board through committee on Tuesday, but the only appointee of Gov. J.B. Pritzker that came for a vote before the full Senate was rejected.

The 15-member Prisoner Review Board decides on the conditions for inmates' release. 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, 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, an Essex Democrat, joined the GOP and voted 'no.'

Mears is a former Illinois Department of Corrections employee from southern Illinois. He has voted on more than 40 cases for the review board while awaiting Senate action.

Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh in an email blamed Republicans for the denial Tuesday and touted Mears' resume.

“Republicans have set out on a mission to dismantle a constitutional function of government, just like the previous governor,” she said. “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.”

The statement was referring to the approximately 4,500 parole revocation hearings held by the review board each year at locations around the state about 15 to 20 times per month. Three board members must be present at each hearing to render a decision on whether to terminate an offender's parole, otherwise the offender would be released and deemed not in violation of parole.

Pritzker had sent a letter to Executive Appointments Chair Sen. Laura Murphy, a Des Plaines Democrat, and Sen. Jason Plummer, an Edwardsville Republican, on March 15 urging them to act on appointments to address the potential of not having enough board members for the revocation hearings.

Review board members Ken Tupy, Jared Bohland and LeAnn Miller were also recommended by the committee, with Tupy and Bohland receiving unanimous support.

The Senate did not take up those appointees but has until the end of session on Monday to vote on them before they are automatically approved due to a provision in the state Constitution that sets a 60-session-day timer for action.

Two other review board appointees, Oreal James and Eleanor Kaye Wilson, were passed along for Senate consideration without recommendation from the committee. These appointments, too, must go before the Senate by end of session Monday for a vote or they will be automatically approved.