* Sun-Times…
Larry Hoover took a big step toward freedom Wednesday.
But he’s not a free man.
That’s even after President Donald Trump commuted the life prison sentence of the 74-year-old co-founder of the Gangster Disciples, who’s been held for decades in the so-called supermax prison in Colorado.
Hoover still has a state-court murder sentence to serve. It’s not even clear if Hoover will leave federal prison. But Trump ordered him to be released “immediately.”
Only eight months ago, a judge seemingly dashed a mercy bid by asking Hoover’s attorneys “how many murders is he responsible for?” Now Hoover’s supporters are celebrating, and his attorneys are pressing for Gov. JB Pritzker to follow Trump’s lead and commute Hoover’s life sentence for murder in Illinois.
“The federal government has done its part,” Hoover attorney Justin Moore told the Chicago Sun-Times in a text message. “Now it’s time for the State of Illinois to finish the job.”
* ABC7…
Hoover still faces the remainder of a 200-year state sentence for a 1973 Chicago murder. While in prison for that murder, federal prosecutors said Hoover, one of the founders of the Chicago Gangster Disciples, continued to oversee that gang.
Prosecutors said he was an organizational genius and ordered murders, beatings and drug deals while behind bars.
He was convicted in 1997 and sentenced to six life sentences in connection with those federal charges.
* I checked in with the governor’s office. They sent me some background…
—Hoover has a sentence from Illinois he needs to continue serving.
—If he wants to pursue parole or clemency, he would have to petition the Prisoner Review Board (PRB).
—PRB makes parole decisions. PRB makes clemency recommendations to the Governor.
—Unlike Donald Trump, Illinois follows the law. That includes our state justice system.
…Adding… House speaker pro-tempore Kam Buckner…
The story of Larry Hoover reflects the duality that defines so many of our communities; pain and possibility, harm and hope, esp. in the crucible of poverty, systemic neglect, and desperation.
The commutation of Mr. Hoover’s federal sentence is not a dismissal of past harm. It is a recognition that even in a deeply flawed system, we must make room for redemption, resurrection, and renewal.
Over the years, I’ve spoken w/his son, Larry Jr., and his wife, Winndye. Their unwavering commitment to healing their family and helping to restore our communities is a powerful reminder: we are not only the sum of our worst decisions …we are also our ability to grow, to evolve, and to lead others; not to erase the past, but to build a better future on top of it.
We must also name this truth plainly: the mercy shown to Larry Hoover by President Trump does not erase the policies Trump continues to champion…policies that reinforce the very conditions Hoover came out of. The same administration that offered one man a second chance also is doubling down on criminalization, disinvestment, & division that makes redemption harder for millions more. Mercy without justice is not a sustainable model.
And we have to talk honestly about our city. Chicago has a long and uncomfortable relationship with violence. In the affluent parts of my district, people pay hundreds of dollars to cosplay as gangsters and tour the places Al Capone shot up. H.H. Holmes is treated like a twisted folk hero. We commercialize bloodshed when it feels distant…when it’s old enough, clean enough, or romanticized enough. But when the pain is current and difficult, we categorize it differently. None of it should be normalized. Not the glorification. Not the erasure. Not the selective outrage.
This is bigger than one man. It’s about second chances; for Larry Hoover, yes, but also for the thousands like him still seeking a path forward and the communities that deserve healing.
Let’s approach this moment with the honesty, compassion, and courage it demands.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 9:34 am:
“Hoover’s supporters”?? Who on earth could be a supporter of this guy?
- Garfield Ridge Guy - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 9:40 am:
Kanye West and Drake have regularly called for Hoover’s pardoning. Chance the Rapper posted last night praising the pardon.
- South Suburban Jay - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 9:45 am:
Sen Preston also called the move an “undeniable day of redemption.”
- James - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 9:55 am:
Trick box for Pritzker. Good luck Governor.
- JS Mill - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 9:56 am:
For those of us that directly dealt with gangs and gang issues, we know the damage they cause first hand. As a teacher and administrator I had many many dealings with the GD’s. We dealt with the aftermath of a summer gang war that left several of our students dead and on the run because they were wanted for crimes associated with that summer war. These were all 14-18 year olds doing the bidding of Hoover and those like him. Lives absolutely destroyed, families and communities paying a massive price. That was more than 20 years ago for me and I will never forget it. It was hard to keep our teachers coming to work for fear of being caught in the crossfire.
This commutation is absolutely insane. I cannot say what I want about the president or I will be banned. Hoover cannot spend enough time in prison for the suffering he helped cause. I never liked Kanye, don’t listen to Drake or Chance. But they should be ashamed. Hoover is a mass murderer. Responsible for gun violence and drug deaths.
- Red Ketcher - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 10:13 am:
No Praise here. Bad Decision.
Don’t make it two Bad Decisions.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 10:49 am:
===Only eight months ago, a judge seemingly dashed a mercy bid by asking Hoover’s attorneys “how many murders is he responsible for?”===
“No” is a complete answer.
- JB13 - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 10:51 am:
I personally think Hoover should remain behind bars forever.
But will the governor really betray his criminal justice reform big talk just to prove “Illinois follows the law, unlike Trump?”
- levivotedforjudy - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:03 am:
“how many murders is he responsible for?” Anyone that has created some sort of romanticized view of who Hoover is needs to heed the judges question.
- TNR - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:08 am:
This is reminder of why running for president as the sitting governor might be risky for JB. It seems very unlikely that the PRB would free Hoover, but what if they did in the middle of presidential campaign a few years from now? JB would own it.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:10 am:
===JB would own it.===
Or, hear me out, perhaps the person who would own it more is the dude who let Hoover out of federal prison, with no notice to victims’ families, no hearings, no nothing.
- It's Just a Pill - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:14 am:
I don’t know a lot about prision, but it seems getting pardoned out of Colorado to wind up in Statesville is not an ideal move.
- Alton Sinkhole - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:24 am:
==I don’t know a lot about prision==
A simple googling of the facility that Hoover is currently in will educate you rather quickly
- Loop Lady - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:24 am:
The lawlessness, mayhem, loss of life, terror in the hoods will never be forgotten by the people of the city of Chicago.
There are no adequate words for the sense of outrage
after this inexplicable pardon.
- Loop Lady - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:27 am:
Trick Box: are you suggesting that African Americans are celebrating this pardon?
Lets hear your sources for this
You couldn’t be more wrong.
All races were affected by the Gangster Disciples.
- low level - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:29 am:
I see Don is really concerned about gang bangers on our streets and backing the blue / s. What a total farce.
- JS Mill - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:32 am:
=perhaps the person who would own it more is the dude who let Hoover out of federal prison, =
I would agree however, nothing seems to stick to him, especially with his base. They will see pritzker as the one who actually freed him from jail. And I absolutely hope hoover does every single second of those 200 years.
As for Buckner and his statement: Everyone deserves a “second” chance. But this isn’t a second chance, oit is more like a 10th or 20th chance. The convictions that landed him in federal prison were not his first time he faced a court. neither were the state convictions that earned him 200 years.
Buckner is one of the authors of the assault weapons ban and he supports freeing one of the people that helped create the need? Sorry, I cannot take him seriously anymore. The murderers are not the victims. They are not the victims of the system. It isn’t someone else’s fault which he seems to be alluding to.
- Happy Go Lucky - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:35 am:
“we must make room for redemption, resurrection, and
Do politicians now have the power to resurrect murder victims?
Truely the fruit of a rotten society through and through.
- Keyrock - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:36 am:
Larry Hoover is only the sum of his worst decisions, which destroyed untold lives, families, and neighborhoods.
One wonders what kind of, uh, consideration Trump received for issuing this abhorrent commutation.
- Larry Bowa Jr. - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:45 am:
“it seems getting pardoned out of Colorado to wind up in Statesville is not an ideal move.”
I think Hoover should remain in prison until his death, for the reasons outlined by JS Mill above and many more, but ADX FLorence is a torture chamber. Nobody should be in that place. It is arguably more humane to kill someone.
- JS Mill - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 11:51 am:
=All races were affected by the Gangster Disciples.=
From personal experience I find your statement to be absolutely true.
- Leslie K - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 12:10 pm:
==As for Buckner and his statement: Everyone deserves a “second” chance. But this isn’t a second chance, oit is more like a 10th or 20th chance.==
Exactly. This is not a redemption story. This is not the story of a person who has reflected on his past and strives to rectify the unspeakable harm he has caused. It’s just the story of a person who has grown old in prison. Which is already more grace than he has ever given others. Shame on Buckner.
- Leatherneck - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 12:11 pm:
=“Hoover’s supporters”?? Who on earth could be a supporter of this guy?=
Perhaps George Ryan when he was still alive?
- ArchPundit - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 12:13 pm:
He found a way to make the Blagojevich pardon look less awful.
- ArchPundit - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 12:16 pm:
He’d probably go to Illinois River Maximum, not Stateville. He’s likely to try and communicate to run further criminal activities and IRM is far more suited to that kind of issue.
- Trummy - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 12:18 pm:
Hoover is, and has long been, eligible for parole. PRB exists to make these determinations for individuals serving indeterminate sentences.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 12:24 pm:
===Or, hear me out, perhaps the person who would own it more is the dude who let Hoover out of federal prison, with no notice to victims’ families, no hearings, no nothing. ===
I’ve had the voters don’t do nuance approach beaten over my head on this blog repeatedly over the years. Folks can be upset at Trump and upset at Pritzker at the same time.
JB Pritzker will never be appearing on a ballot at the same time as Donald Trump appears on the ballot and banana republic dictator shenanigans aside, Trump will not be running for President in 2028.
Governors own. Presidents own. They can own together. They can own separately.
The case being made for clemency by Hoover’s supporters is unappealing. Many more people are dead because of his actions than what was proven in state or federal court.
- H-W - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 12:54 pm:
=== Let’s approach this moment with the honesty, compassion, and courage it demands. ===
I agree with House Speaker Buckner. He does not say, release Hoover. He says, let’s review. I my faith (Christianity), confession, restitution, and forgiveness are still taught. I think it only right to believe that prison can restore individuals. That is why we have parole and the PRB.
- State of DenIL - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 2:04 pm:
He will be very welcome at Menard.
- Southside Markie - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 2:39 pm:
Everyone in custody who has taken accountability for their actions, sincerely felt and expressed remorse and has truly become a “changed person” is entitled to a second chance. Is Larry Hoover that person? I don’t know. That’s why we have the PRB, far from perfect but better than the process which the White House followed. I hope that the PRB will not be swayed by political pressure from either side. It’ll be interesting to watch.
- Keyrock - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 3:10 pm:
Hoover wouldn’t tell Judge Blakey how many murders he’d ordered. If he”s not willing to be honest about his vicious past — including ordering hits while running the GD’s from prison — he hasn’t shown repentance and shouldn’t be back on the street. Ever.
- Give Us Barabbas - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 3:19 pm:
I am trying to decode why this ever came onto Trump‘s radar in the first place: was it a suggestion from Kanye or was there some money involved from somewhere?
I am also just a little puzzled by Chance the Rapper on this one I consider myself a fan of Chance , and I know from personal experience that he spends a lot of time visiting prisons talking to the inmates and supporting programs that help inmates do better when they get out, so I’m scratching my head at his choice in this case to back Hoover.
- state worker - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 3:26 pm:
Everyone will have a different take on this obviously. But it’s worth the time to hear what Larry Hoover and his supporters say, and to hear from his family members, as Rep Buckner
and Sen Preston have — as well as the many people opposed. Just to appreciate another perspective and see where people are coming from.
- Beep booop - Thursday, May 29, 25 @ 3:49 pm:
==Trick Box: are you suggesting that African Americans are celebrating this pardon?==
Not OP but not hard to see that is Hoover’s largest demo of support. No, not all, but come on… not a huge secret. Not saying it’s right or wrong. Just is.
==Lets hear your sources for this==
The people publicly calling for the pardon. The people defending the pardon. Etc