Pritzker taps former Rauner chief of staff, former judge for PRB
By BETH HUNDSDORFER
Capitol News Illinois
bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday named a former Cook County judge and the chief of staff of his Republican predecessor to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
Both of those appointees, ex-Cook County Judge Robin Shoffner and Republican former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s chief of staff Rodger Heaton, passed unanimously through committee on Friday night and received full Senate approval in the early hours of Saturday morning along with two other appointees who were awaiting action.
Appointees to the PRB have drawn heavy Republican scrutiny in the past year as the Senate delayed hearing several of Pritzker’s appointees to the board that determines the release conditions of those held in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Last month, two appointees, Jeff Mears and Eleanor Kaye Wilson, failed to win Senate approval. A third appointee, Oreal James, resigned. Those members had received scrutiny for granting release to convicted killers of law enforcement officers or other controversial parole actions.
Pritzker also pulled the appointment of Max Cerda, a convicted murder, after it appeared it would not have the votes to win Senate approval.
Criminal justice advocates and Pritzker had warned that the dysfunction at the board would cause it to be unable to serve important functions, including determining whether to revoke parole, as the board lacked the quorum needed to act.
Those failed confirmations, coupled with the pulled appointment and resignation, led to postponement of the April clemency docket. As of Friday, the PRB website said it had been postponed until May 26, as the addition of the two members will bring the board up to the eight members needed for a quorum.
Heaton served from 2005 to 2009 as U.S. Attorney for Central District of Illinois after he was appointed by President George W. Bush. In 2015, Heaton joined the Rauner administration where he served as homeland security advisor and director of public safety before becoming chief of staff in 2017. Heaton graduated from the University of Illinois and Indiana University School of Law.
Shoffner is a partner in the Chicago law firm of Nathan & Kamionski. She served several years as a civil trial judge in Cook County. She also served as a trial attorney for the city of Chicago. Shoffner has an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. She was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1990.
Shoffner will fill the vacancy of former Prisoner Review Board member Virginia Martinez, a Rauner appointee.
Heaton will replace Joseph Ruggiero. Last month, Pritzker pulled the appointment of Ruggiero for the second time before a Senate confirmation vote. Ruggiero, 62, served for three years after his appointment by Rauner.
Three board members – LeAnn Miller, Jared Bohland and Ken Tupy – were still awaiting Senate approval before Friday. Tupy and Bohland were recommended by the Senate Executive Appointments Committee unanimously and were approved with Heaton and Shoffner early Saturday. Miller was previously recommended by the committee but did not receive a vote Saturday.
One of Pritzker’s most vocal critics on the PRB issue, Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, said in a statement released on Friday that the PRB is a critical to Illinois’ public safety and he’s glad to see the vacancies addressed.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government that is distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
Palos Heights tax preparer convicted of Covid-relief fraud
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A Palos Heights tax preparer who operates a business in Bridgeview has been convicted on federal charges for fraudulently assisting customers in obtaining loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago on June 10 convicted Hadi Isbaih, 42, on all…
Renovations begin on Shepard High School theater
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Shepard High School, which prides itself in the fine arts, will soon have a beautifully reconstructed theater right on its Palos Heights campus. The Community High School District 218 Board of Education recently unanimously approved funding for the renovation of the Fine Arts Center at the high school at 13049…
Young Spiderman fan wishes students a great summer
Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Spiderman-kid bids farewell and wishes a beautiful summer break to students of Glen Oak Elementary in Hickory Hills. Since the summer of 2023, when he discovered the movie “Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse,” a story about multiple Spidermen from different dimensions, 6-year-old Ribhi Gaber has been more than just a fan…
Worth finalizes rules for open burning in village
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle After several discussions over the past month, the Village of Worth has new guidelines for open burning by businesses and in residential areas. Mayor Mary Werner mentioned during the Worth Village Board meeting Tuesday night that a discrepancy in an ordinance regarding open burning had a 10 p.m. deadline. However,…
Orland Township event focuses on mental health
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Orland Township is taking the time to focus on mental health. Residents were invited out to join Orland Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady for an event called, Minds Matter 2024, on May 16 at Orland Township, located at 14807 S. Ravinia Avenue in Orland Park. “This was an excellent opportunity to…
Bridgeview shooting not related to Summer Smash
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong Bridgeview Police Chief Ricardo Mancha on Monday wanted to emphasize that a shooting in the village Saturday night had nothing to do with the Summer Smash music festival that took place over the weekend at SeatGeek Stadium. “It was an isolated incident,” he said. “Completely unrelated to the Summer Smash…
Summer jobs available for youths through Lyons Township
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch The summer jobs program offered each year by the Township of Lyons is up and running. The program for high school and college students “is designed to give young individuals an opportunity for summer employment,” Trustee Donna McDonald said at the township board’s June 11 meeting. The jobs program started…
Proud mayor grandpa hands out candy bars at meeting
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch It’s a tradition for new fathers to hand out cigars after the birth of a child. The cigar’s wrappers are blue for a boy and pink for a girl. If they’re non-smokers, new dads have been known to hand out bubblegum shaped like cigars. Sometimes, proud grandfathers get into the…
Pair busted for Summit phone store robberies
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong Two Chicago men have been charged with robbing two phone stores in Summit earlier this year. Jacari Franklin and Austin White are charged with robbing the T-Mobile store at 5640 S. Harlem Ave. on March 28 and the AT&T store at Archer and Harlem avenues on April 18, police said.…
Car enthusiasts crowd annual Father’s Day show in Lyons.
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Held under sunny and warm skies Sunday, the annual Father’s Day Car Show in Lyons was deemed a smashing success by participants and visitors. Not only were car lovers able to admire the four-wheeled beauties, some owners spent quality time with Dad or a spouse. Don Raschka, 80, of Central…
Neighbors
Mayor ‘out of control,’ hero says
Spread the lovePolice ranks ‘thousands’ short, dispatcher tells Scottsdale By Tim Hadac It’s not every day that a City worker has the courage to attend a public meeting and call a mayor “out of control.” But Keith A. Thornton Jr. did exactly that earlier this week on the Southwest Side. A 911 dispatcher hailed as…
Rockie is the new kid on the block
Spread the love While some folks see heavy snowfall and curse the skies, children across the Southwest Side seemed thrilled with last week’s winter windfall. Schools cancelled classes, and kids like 9-year-old Rosie Arroyo showed her creativity by working with her father, Raul, to build a snowman in front of their home near 49th and…
Kaegi, legislators, advocates unveil affordable housing initiative
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi was joined by state legislators and affordable housing advocates earlier this week to launch the Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program, a new form of property tax relief recently signed into law. Kaegi worked with legislative partners who passed the law last spring, including State Sens.…
Lopez nixes dibs
Spread the love While calling dibs on parking spaces in the winter is an informal tradition in the city, 15th Ward Ald. Raymond Lopez recently reminded his constituents in Back of the Yards, Brighton Park, Gage Park and West Englewood that no one may call dibs indefinitely. He instructed his Streets and Sanitation ward superintendent…
St. Dan’s Summerfest to return
Spread the lovePopular event was gone for several years By Tim Hadac Details are just starting to emerge, but it looks like St. Daniel the Prophet Parish’s Summerfest will return in 2022, after an absence of several years. The family-focused event is set for Thursday, June 16 through Sunday, June 19 on parish grounds at…
Skating is winter’s silver lining
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Hi everyone. As I write this, snowmageddon is raging outside. I’m not sure how many inches we have as of yet, or how many we will end up with; but I hope by the time you read this, we are…
Property tax bills due soon, Pappas says
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas recently mailed nearly 1.8 million Tax Year 2021 First Installment property tax bills. Payments are due March 1, 2022. The First Installment is 55% of the previous year’s total tax. Exemptions that can reduce a property owner’s taxes are applied to the Second Installment bill.…
Marchers welcome in St. Patrick’s Day parade
Spread the loveBy Tim Hadac Southwest Side organizations are welcome to march in the community’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, set for Saturday, March 12. It is anticipated that local schools, churches, Scout troops, youth athletic associations and others will have units in the parade. Units will have to register in advance with parade organizers.…
Scout Sunday at St. Mary Star of the Sea
Spread the love Members of Boy Scout Troop 1441, sponsored by the St. Mary Star of the Sea Holy Name Society, as well as their families, attended Mass last weekend at St. Mary’s on what is traditionally Scout Sunday in churches across America. It also signals the start of a month of celebration in recognition…