Quinn Issues Pardons, Says More May Be On the Way

Gov. Pat Quinn has pardoned 11 people and ordered that their criminal records be expunged.

He says it's part of an effort to clear what he calls a "shameful'' backlog of almost 2,500 clemency requests that built up under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Crimes committed by those who were pardoned include drug possession, aggravated battery and burglary.

Quinn says this is just the first in a series of clemency petitions he will act on with the goal of drastically reducing the backlog by the end of the year.

He says each person he pardoned underwent a criminal background check.