Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) | File Photo
Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) | File Photo
Under the heading 'Prisoner Review Board Alert, Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) posted some breaking news about the board on Facebook on April 8.
"Nothing quite like the scheduled last day of session!" Bryant posted. "At 4:27 pm today, the Governor appointed Robin Shoffner, and Rodger Heaton. At 6:15 pm, the 6 day posting notice was waived and all four were posted for Executive Appointments Committee at 7:15 pm in Room 400. As of 6:41 pm, staff has not received Senate Résumés for any of the four appointees."
In a March 31 tweet, Bryant shared an op-ed piece written by Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Vandalia) in the Chicago Tribune, which posited that the Prisoner Review Board situation is “a mess of Pritzker’s own making.”
On March 22, the six unconfirmed members of the Prison Review Board - Jeffrey Mears, Oreal James, Eleanor Wilson, Kenneth Tupy, Jared Bohland, and LeAnn Miller – were given a hearing before the Senate Executive Appointments Committee. Mears’ confirmation failed. The committee tabled the confirmation of James and Wilson.
In late March, Gov. J. B. Pritzker blamed Republicans in the legislature for his nominees not being confirmed. “To have Republicans essentially try to tear apart this agency of government, this is what the GQP has been all about, tearing government apart,” Pritzker said during a news conference in Springfield. Pritzker did not explain what he meant by “GQP.”
Pritzker also said, “But it is difficult when it all gets politicized and very highly qualified people get tossed, and to attract new people to do that job when the Republicans have highly politicized this thing, (is) much more difficult.”
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