SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) voted to keep the governor’s appointment of Eleanor Wilson on the Prisoner Review Board. With her vote, Hunter released the following statement:

“There are people who believe that Ms. Wilson has been too lenient in her past rulings, but I believe we’re treating her very unfairly. All she did was do her job which was read the file, listen to recommendations and look at the whole picture.

“Those who once committed a crime can be worthy of a second chance. We spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year to rehabilitate these people, and there is proof that it works.

“Eleanor is extremely qualified, and deserves more respect for the time she’s served. I am confident that she considers a diversity of perspectives and is ultimately committed to criminal justice reform and safety, and I am disappointed that her nomination was not approved.”