16 Illinois Department of Corrections inmates that were sentenced in Knox County have been released since the beginning of March.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has made efforts to reduce Illinois’ prison population during the spread of COVID-19.
About 4,000 inmates have been released since Mar, although Pritzker says not all were releases were related to coronavirus, and some just came to the end of their term.
Republican lawmakers including Senator Jil Tracy have been critical of Pritzker’s release of prisoners.
Tracy said last week, “There is little to no regard for the safety of the citizens of Illinois, or the crime victims and witnesses who will be affected when a convicted felon is being released – ahead of schedule – back into the community.”
The 14 from Knox County that were paroled all would have been eligible for parole at this time anyway.
48-year-old Eric Denniston disputes the accuracy of his release date.
The two that were discharged were 58-year-old Brian Rahn on possession of child porn and, 34-year-old Carrington Clelland on a charge of violating an order of protection.
The reason for their release is unclear although they had each served over half of their sentences.
The most serious charges among those paroled would be aggravated meth manufacturing and criminal sexual assault.
Click on the link below to view the entire list published by the Illinois Department of Corrections website.
https://www2.illinois.gov/idoc/Offender/Pages/CommunityNotificationofInmateEarlyRelease.aspx
