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Illinois governor pardons crime of deported Army vet

Illinois governor pardons crime of deported Army vet | iNFOnews.ca
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, hands a signed bill off to sponsor Illinois State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Collinsville, that will raise the minimum salary for teachers to $40,000 after a bill signing ceremony in the Governor's office at the Illinois State Capitol, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, in Springfield, Ill. The new new minimum salary will be phased in over four years with hopes to reduce a teacher shortage in Illinois that has school districts for the 2018-2019 school year with 4,196 unfilled positions across the state according to the Illinois State Board of Education. (Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP)

CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he’s erased the drug conviction of an Army veteran who was deported to Mexico in 2018.

Supporters hope the pardon announced Friday will help Miguel Perez Jr. return to his family in Chicago. Pritzker says the pardon is the “most just action to take.”

Perez, who was born in Mexico, doesn’t have U.S. citizenship but had a green card as a permanent U.S. resident. He joined the Army in 2002 and served in Afghanistan where he suffered a brain injury. He’s been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Perez was convicted of a drug crime involving cocaine in 2008 and was deported by the U.S. government last year.

A Chicago pastor, the Rev. Emma Lozano, says Perez needs to be “treated with the dignity and honour he deserves.”

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