Illinois raises limits on wrongful conviction payouts under new law Gov. JB Pritzker has signed

Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune on Jul 14, 2026

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People who were wrongfully imprisoned in Illinois could see larger payouts after Gov. JB Pritzker announced Tuesday he had signed a law raising the compensation cap.

Illinois has had the most exonerations of any state for six of the past seven years, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. But until now, compensation for exonerees through the state court of claims was limited to an inflation-adjusted cap of about $300,000.

The change marks “a major stride in criminal legal reform and accountability to those who are wrongfully convicted and imprisoned,” Pritzker said in a video statement.

It eliminates the overall $300,000 limit and raises the cap to $50,000 per year of wrongful incarceration, including time in jail or juvenile detention before a wrongful conviction, and $25,000 per year for those wrongfully placed on parole, probation or the sex offender registry.

Previously, the awards averaged about $11,190 per year of wrongful imprisonment, according to a news release from bill sponsor state Sen. Elgie Sims of Chicago, citing the Illinois Innocence Project.

The Tribune has previously covered the lack of post-release government services tailored to the extraordinary circumstances of the exonerated, and in many cases, the lack of compensation through state payouts or lawsuits.

Illinois’ compensation rate previously lagged far behind the national average, as many states adopted models of up to $50,000 per year, according to a 2024 analysis from the Innocence Project, a national organization.

To be eligible for compensation under the new law, exonerees must have received a certificate of innocence or have been pardoned by the governor.

“When the system gets it wrong, it’s on us as leaders to step up and make it right,” Sims said in a news release.

The bill passed the General Assembly without opposition.

James “Jimmy” Soto, who became, along with his cousin, the longest-serving wrongfully convicted person in Illinois, celebrated the change.

“This bill has helped put one piece of my fractured life together,” Soto said. “That cushion will make my life a little easier, but in no way does any amount of money give me back the years that I’ve lost.”

Soto and cousin David Ayala were 20 and 18 when they were arrested following the shooting deaths of 16-year-old Julie Limas and Hector Valeriano, 18, a U.S. Marine on leave, in 1981. They were sentenced to natural life in prison before they were exonerated and released in 2023.

Soto said he would be eligible for the new payout limits and planned to put it toward “a decent apartment” and costs associated with law school.

He advocated for the bill with other exonerees and the Illinois Innocence Project, he said, “for everyone who comes after me.”

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