Departing Gov. Pat Quinn granted 43 clemency petitions in his final moments as governor, commuting the sentences of four people and reducing the sentences of two others.
The Chicago Democrat's office announced the action Monday as Republican Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner's inauguration was underway in Springfield.
Quinn commuted the sentences of Tyrone Hood and Anthony Dansberry.
Hood is serving prison time for the 1993 shooting death of an Illinois Institute of Technology basketball player. Attorneys said evidence pointed to someone else and Cook County prosecutors have re-examined the case.
Dansberry was convicted in a 1991 murder, though his attorneys say the confession was coerced because Dansberry couldn't read and unknowingly signed paperwork.
Quinn denied 119 petitions.
Overall, he considered nearly 5,000 clemency petitions. Rauner will inherit more than 1,800 cases.
