Quinn Grants 179 Christmas Eve Clemency Petitions

CHICAGO (AP) — Gov. Pat Quinn has granted 179 clemency requests after going through 604 petitions filed since 2008.

The Democrat issued a Christmas Eve statement saying he's also denied 425 petitions.

The list of grantees wasn't made available until four hours after the announcement. Quinn's office didn't explain the delay.

A Prisoner Review Board list shows clemencies granted are for crimes including identity theft.

Quinn still has roughly 3,000 petitions with weeks left before Republican Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner takes office.

Quinn inherited thousands of cases from predecessor ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Quinn's spokeswoman says he's nearly eliminated the backlog, but there's been a surge of new petitions.

Overall, Quinn has acted on nearly 4,000 clemency petitions, more than recent governors.

Those granted clemency underwent background checks. They can seek expungement of their conviction.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)