Exonerees who have been granted a pardon by the Governor or a certificate of innocence by the Circuit Court are eligible for the following compensation:

• $85,350 for those who served up to five years

• $170,000 for those who served between five and 14 years

• $199,150 for those who served more than 14 years

The law also reimburses attorney's fees up to 25 percent of the compensation award, provides job search and placement services, and re-entry services. Effective: 2008

Read the statutes here: ILCS 505-8 / ILCS 1015/2 / 1710-125 (PDFs)

DNA Exonerations Nationwide

In 200th DNA Exoneration Nationwide, Jerry Miller in Chicago Is Proven Innocent 25 Years After Wrongful Conviction

Dean Cage, Wrongfully Convicted Based on Eyewitness ID Practices that Are Still in Place Today, Is Exonerated in Chicago with DNA

Innocence Project Applauds Illinois for Abolishing the Death Penalty

Chicago Judge Overturns Murder Convictions of Four Men Based on New DNA Evidence Linking the Crime to a Convicted Murderer

Illinois Appeals Court Throws Major Blow to Lake County Prosecutor's Effort to Retry Man that DNA Testing Has Excluded as Source of Evidence in 1986 Rape

60 Minutes: Moving Past a Prison Nightmare

Lake County, Illinois Man Exonerated After 25 Year Struggle to Clear His Name

Compensating The Wrongly Convicted

A life stolen, a long road back

Compensating the Wrongfully Convicted

After Exoneration

81% of Exonerated People Who Have Been Compensated Under State Laws Received Less Than the Federal Standard, New Innocence Project Report Shows