Former Chicago gang leader asks Pritzker for clemency following Trump pardon

By KATHLEEN FOODY and TODD RICHMOND

CHICAGO (AP) — One of Chicago’s most infamous gang leaders asked Gov. JB Pritzker for clemency Wednesday after winning a pardon from President Donald Trump earlier this spring, arguing that he had been “lost in an enduring pattern of criminality” but he’s grown into a different person in the decades since he’s been in prison.

Larry Hoover, once a key leader of the Gangster Disciples, was sentenced to up to 200 years in Illinois state prison in 1973 in connection with a murder. He was sentenced decades later to life in federal prison for running a criminal enterprise behind bars. Hoover has still left his mark even from prison, launching a jail-inspired fashion line, starting a political action committee and inspiring rap lyrics.

Trump commuted Hoover’s federal sentence in May and he was moved from a federal “supermax” prison in Colorado to a nearby Colorado state facility to continue serving his state sentence.

His attorneys sent a request to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board to hold a hearing on whether Hoover deserves clemency in the state case. The board makes recommendations to Pritzker, who makes the final decision on clemency. They argued in the filing that Hoover is now 74 years old, has had three heart attacks doing hard labor at the Colorado state prison and has no desire to commit any more crimes.

Hoover promises ‘zero chance’ he would re-offend

Hoover wrote in a letter included with the request that he takes responsibility for his crimes, saying he wasted his talents on “destructive and self-defeating endeavors” that hurt almost everyone around him.

“I was lost in an enduring pattern of criminality those many years ago,” he wrote.

He said he’s no longer the person he was when he entered prison after spending 25 years in “a front row seat to the passing by of the World” and he has renounced all ties to any criminal organization, including the Gangster Disciples. He said he suffers from a range of age-related ailments and just wants to be home with his family and grandchildren.

“There is zero chance I would re-offend,” he wrote. “I know there are some that will probably remain unconvinced and choose to believe I’m beyond redemption. I hope to prove them wrong, or at a minimum, to allay their concerns eventually.”

Request comes as Pritzker, Trump spar over immigration

A spokesperson for Pritzker referred questions Wednesday to the prisoner review board. The Associated Press left a message with the board’s clemency unit seeking comment.

The second-term Democratic governor has not publicly indicated what he will do. In May, Pritzker met with members of Hoover’s family in Springfield where they discussed the clemency process.

“A recommendation is made by the prisoner review board to me that includes that entire record, and I review the entire record when that happens,” Pritzker told reporters the day after the meeting.

Hoover’s request comes as Pritzker’s frustrations with Trump mount. The governor has long been one of Trump’s loudest critics and tensions between them have been growing sharper as the president escalates a crackdown on Chicago immigrants. Trump’s administration last week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago area.

Hoover founded one of the Windy City’s most notorious gangs

Hoover was a founder of the Gangster Disciples more than 50 years ago. To this day, the Gangster Disciples remain one of Chicago’s most notorious street gangs. Federal prosecutors maintain the gang generated around $100 million in drug sales annually during the height of Hoover’s leadership.

Hoover was convicted of murder in 1973 after prosecutors accused him of ordering a gang member killed. He was sentenced to 150 to 200 years in state prison. According to prosecutors, he continued to run the gang from behind bars for more than 20 years, expanding it to more than two dozen states. A federal jury in 1997 found him guilty of dozens of crimes, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. He got six life sentences.

Fashion, politics and rap

In the 1990s, Hoover launched his “Ghetto Prisoner” fashion line, telling The Associated Press in 1995 that he hoped the clothing would help people come together. He also formed a political action committee that his supporters contend inspired thousands to protest outside Chicago City Hall.

He still became a central figure in the rap world. Rick Ross’ 2010 single “B.M.F.” paid tribute to Hoover’s power and influence. Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and Drake, have pushed for Hoover’s release, with West pleading Hoover’s case to Trump during an Oval Office meeting in 2018. Drake and Ye headlined a “Free Larry Hoover” benefit concert in Los Angeles in 2021.

Associated Press reporter Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.