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