State Senator Steve McClure voted against one of Governor JB Pritzker’s appointments during today’s Committee on Appointments hearing. The appointment involved a nominee, Melissa Rollins, to serve on the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, an agency that has faced growing scrutiny in recent years. 

Republican lawmakers, including Senator McClure, have continued to raise concerns about the board’s decision-making process, accountability, and oversight when it comes to parole determinations and inmate releases.

McClure says public safety must remain the top priority and argued that confidence in the board has been damaged by past decisions. He also emphasized the importance of thoroughly reviewing appointees who could play a role in future parole rulings.

McClure said that the Prisoner Review Board has appointed members in past situations that have let very violent offenders out, and one of those freshly released violent offenders killed somebody after they were released.

The Prisoner Review Board has come under criticism during the Governor’s administration, particularly following the high-profile Crosetti Brand case. That case drew statewide attention after Brand, who had been released on parole, was later accused in the stabbing death of an eleven-year-old boy in Chicago.

The Prisoner Review Board is responsible for making decisions on parole matters, clemency recommendations, and other inmate release considerations across the state of Illinois.

For more information about the prisoner review board, visit prb.illinois.gov.

For details on all of the current legislature in Illinois, visit www.ilga.gov.