Governor Pardons School Board Member For Felony Theft In 1981

WAUKEGAN, IL — Gov. Bruce Rauner recently pardoned a District 60 school board member for stealing an air conditioner 37 years ago, the Lake County News-Sun reported. The head lawyer for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board confirmed that Jeff McBride was among five people whose petitions for pardons were granted by the governor in May. McBride, the top vote-getter in the April 2017 school board election, is facing a civil petition seeking to remove him from the board due to state law prohibiting felons from specified elected offices.

A losing candidate complained after McBride's election win, and in May 2017 the Lake County State's Attorney's Office filed a challenge as to whether McBride was eligible to serve on the board, according to the News-Sun. State's Attorney Mike Nerheim submitted a recommendation to the prisoner review board on McBridges behalf.

In a release, Nerheim praised McBride's public service but said he had to be guided by the law. One member of the prisoner review board reportedly questioned whether a 1982 Wisconsin felony may separately prevent McBride from school board service, according to the News-Sun.

In the case of municipal and township offices, the ban is clear. Anyone who "has been convicted in any court located in the United States of any infamous crime, bribery, perjury, or other felony" is not eligible to take the oath of office.

The state prohibition on people with felony convictions serving in municipal offices has withstood challenges in Illinois appellate courts, including in 2006 from a village president in Sorento due to a prior conviction for driving with a revoked license.

The next year, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners asserted the ban was unconstitutional in the case of a pair of previously felonious aldermen: Ambrosio Medrano, with state and federal corruption convictions, who is currently in federal prison after pleading guilty to a hospital bandage bribery and kickback scheme, and Virgil E. Jones, who served time for "various felonies arising out of misconduct in office," according to the court. The Illinois Supreme Court disagreed with the Chicago commissioners' claim and reversed the board's ruling.

Most recently, a state appeals court in March 2018 decided against recently-elected mayor of Markham due to a mail fraud conviction. But while the law is clear about municipal offices, it's not quite as obvious what the standard is for seats on a school board. Part of the issue, as the chief attorney for Illinois State Board of Elections told the News-Sun last year, comes down the definition of so-called "infamous crimes." While convictions in that category of offenses disqualify people from holding "any office of honor, trust, or profit," it turns out the term is no longer defined in state law.

McBride, who is also referred to as Jeffrey Booker in court records, entered the a county drug treatment program in 1980, the News-Sun reported, writing that a struggle with addiction had kept him "in and out of jail" and "ruined" his life so far.

"I am now of the opinion that I need professional help," McBride wrote to the judge in his case, according to the paper. He was sentenced to probation and court-ordered addiction treatment.

In 2009, McBride was elected a Waukegan Township trustee. He has served more than eight years on school boards and has been a supervisor with the Waukegan public works department for about a quarter century, according to an township biography.

McBride is the founder of South Side Positive Youth and has worked as a basketball coach and referee, it said. He has also served on the board of the Citizens Against Drugs and Alcohol program and the advisory boards of the Coalition to Reduce Recidivism and the Waukegan Library.

Speaking to the News-Sun, McBride pointed to an educational event about pardons and record sealing scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 23 at Mount Sinai Baptist Church, 2401 Argonne Drive in North Chicago. The event is sponsored by the Coalition to Reduce Recidivism, for which McBride has been a longtime volunteer, his lawyer told the paper.

Last October, the Illinois Senate approved a bill, sponsored by Sen. Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills), that would allow people who were convicted of a felony more than 15 years ago to run for local office. The Senate approved it by a vote of 40-17 last October and is now in the House Rules Committee. Link cited McBride's case when introducing the law, Senate Bill 225.

“Jeff McBride’s story is a criminal justice success story. Jeff was a drug addict who overcame obstacles, turned his life around, and is now, decades later, a dedicated public servant," Link said, announcing the bill.

"He is a pillar of the community who brings a unique perspective to public office. We should be encouraging ex-offenders to turn their lives around like Jeff did instead of letting decades-old crimes stand in the way of their potential.”