Thursday, October 14, 2010
 
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FACT CHECK

Dueling ads on Ill. early release

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[October 14, 2010]  SPRINGFIELD (AP) -- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and state Sen. Bill Brady have competing campaign commercials in the governor's race over the botched secret early release of prisoners last year that put more than 1,700 parolees on the street weeks earlier than they would have been otherwise.

Brady, a Republican, uses a montage of prison cells, mug shots and an empty merry-go-round to bemoan the release of "hardened" criminals. Democrat Quinn uses a simple, mostly black-and-white, text-heavy spot to claim that he shut down the program dubbed "MGT Push" the moment he learned about it from an Associated Press report.

Here are the facts behind the ads:

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BRADY'S CLAIM: "1,745. That's the number of hardened criminals secretly released early from prison onto our streets by Pat Quinn."

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FACTS: Yes, MGT Push led to the release of 1,745 inmates. But hardened? Nearly a third of them were serving sentences for drug or marijuana possession, 150 for retail theft, more than 300 for repeat drunk-driving, with one resulting in serious injury.

More than half of the 1,745 were in state prison for the first time, according to Corrections Department records, although they may have had past convictions that didn't result in a prison sentence.

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BRADY'S CLAIM: Among those released were "domestic abusers, sex offenders, gang members."

FACTS: Three dozen were in for domestic battery and five for sex-related crimes, but four of those convictions were for not reporting as a sex offender. Only after release were several arrested for possible gang activity.

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BRADY'S CLAIM: "Since being released by Quinn, many have been charged with new crimes: domestic battery, assault on a young woman, mob action, murder."

FACTS: More than 300 have been re-arrested since they were released, but not all of those resulted in criminal charges. One man was charged with murder in Peoria, and another was accused of assaulting a woman. No one was charged with mob action, although one inmate -- who is now missing -- had been serving time for mob action.

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QUINN'S CLAIM: "What are the facts about prisoners being released 60 days early?"

FACTS: The inmates were not released 60 days early. The average was four months, and in some cases it was six months early. The 60-day reference is to the old policy that inmates had to serve 60 days before being eligible to collect any time off for good behavior. Ending that policy meant some inmates were getting time off and being released almost as soon as they walked into prison.

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[to top of second column]

QUINN'S CLAIM: "The very day Gov. Pat Quinn found out about it, he took control, took action and shut it down. He issued an order and stopped it cold."

FACTS: Quinn halted MGT Push on Dec. 13, the day of an AP story reporting its existence. But the week before, when asked about it, Quinn's spokesman denied anyone was getting out early.

Two days after the AP article, Quinn said he had known about the program ahead of time and claimed it had been well-publicized but wouldn't say why he was halting it at that time. The next day, he said then-Corrections Director Michael Randle had not followed specific instructions to bar violent offenders from early release.

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QUINN'S CLAIM: "Pat Quinn took responsibility. He didn't duck it; he took action."

FACTS: He took action, but he didn't take responsibility. Quinn blamed Randle, who resigned in September. "I take accountability for the mistakes. The director who made the mistakes takes responsibility for them," Quinn said.

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Online:

Brady ad: http://bit.ly/bNxRay

Quinn ad: http://bit.ly/cYOPUe

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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