SPRINGFIELD — Four new members of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board began work Monday on a panel whose controversial early-release decisions have repeatedly tested Gov. JB Pritzker politically and whose most consequential decision led to the homicide of an 11-year-old Chicago boy.

The new members of the 15-member board, now occupied with only 13 members, bring backgrounds in anti-domestic violence advocacy, probation, law enforcement and the clergy. Their appointments by Pritzker, confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Illinois Senate earlier this month, come as the governor seeks a rare third term and as he has faced scrutiny over the board and its decisions.

The panel’s recent history is difficult to separate from its present. In March 2024, the board granted early release to Crosetti Brand, a man with a documented history of violence against women. Authorities say he later attacked a pregnant former girlfriend and killed her 11-year-old son, Jayden Perkins, when the boy tried to come to his mother’s aid. Brand, now 40, was sentenced to life in prison. Jayden’s family has filed a lawsuit against the board alleging negligence.

The killing prompted the board’s chair at the time, Donald Shelton, and member LeAnn Miller to resign. Pritzker subsequently appointed an executive director to oversee the panel and signed sweeping changes into law — including longer terms for board members, enhanced victim notification requirements and new mandates that seven of its members have at least five years of law enforcement or criminal justice experience.

Those changes were still fresh in the room during confirmation hearings last month, when Senate Republicans pressed the new nominees on their fitness for a board they said had only recently clawed back credibility.

“It would be negligent not to highlight why you have enhanced training now, why we have these enhanced victim notification programs and so forth because until relatively recently, this board was a complete mess with real problems,” state Sen. Jason Plummer, a Republican from Edwardsville, said at the May 28 Senate Executive Appointments Committee hearing. “I think that the PRB is kind of back on the right path, but we could easily fall back into old habits.”

Some of the sharpest exchanges at the hearing centered on Stephanie Love-Patterson, a Chicago advocate whose work history includes providing crisis intervention for sexual assault victims and running a national organization against domestic violence.

In her appointment paperwork, Love-Patterson checked the “yes” box when asked whether she had ever been fired from a job. She explained in the paperwork that she had previously been “separated” as CEO of the National Network to End Domestic Violence “following a governance dispute” with its board of directors.

“Throughout this process, I acted in good faith and in accordance with my professional responsibilities, raising concerns through appropriate internal channels and prioritizing the organization’s mission and ethical standards,” she wrote in paperwork to the Senate she signed in December. “While the Board ultimately chose to move in a different direction, the experience reinforced the importance of transparency, accountability, and respectful disagreement — principles I continue to bring to my work in public service.”

At the May 28 hearing, Plummer pressed Love-Patterson to discuss her departure from the organization, where she was employed from June 2024 to September 2025, according to her Senate paperwork, and criticized her for her lack of transparency about it during his questioning.

“When someone gets a position and they’re fired (not long) after getting the position, and we don’t get answers as to what led to that termination, it causes some heartburn,” Plummer told her. “And so, I’m trying to wrap my arms around how we can confirm you for this role.”

“Well, just like in the private sector,” Love-Patterson replied, “and I wouldn’t, I can’t, I’m not at liberty again to talk about that. I assure you that I’m capable and ready to be a member of this board. I just can’t talk about the decisions that were made in terms of my previous employment.”

Democratic state Sen. Laura Murphy of Des Plaines asked Love-Patterson if her departure from the organization had to do with “a difference in philosophical views and there is nothing in that that prevents you or impedes you from performing the duties that are necessary at the Prisoner Review Board.”

“That’s absolutely correct,” she said. “Thank you.”

Sen. Steve McClure, a Republican from Springfield, asked her about the importance of thinking of victims or their families in Prisoner Review Board decisions, to which Love-Patterson said “it’s vitally important,” that these cases present “a complex situation” and when she starts her training, she’s “looking forward to” the process of gathering additional information if she notices the family hasn’t weighed in on a case.

When McClure asked whether there are any crimes someone behind bars committed that are so heinous they shouldn’t ever be freed, Love-Patterson said the question was difficult to answer. So McClure pressed her on that.

“Somebody kills and rapes 10 children. Should they ever get out of prison?” he asked.

“I understand your question. I understand that’s a tragedy if something like that were to happen,” Love-Patterson replied. “But I really feel like my response is, right now, I have to go through the training, and I have to rely on the requirements that are before me, and also, the collaboration of the panel that I would be on to help make these decisions.”

On the session’s final day, the full Senate confirmed Love-Patterson 39-18. But not before McClure delivered a floor speech calling her nomination “among the worst that I’ve ever been part of interviewing” and accusing her of lying about having tried to reach his and Plummer’s offices before her committee hearing.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before. She was fired from her last job. She’s looking for work, OK? She’s in a position that one should not be in when you are making life or death decisions in very important cases,” McClure said.

Democratic state Sen. Adriane Johnson of Buffalo Grove rose to defend Love-Patterson before the vote. The board’s new requirement that members receive training on handling domestic violence cases made Love-Patterson’s background directly relevant, Johnson argued.

“Stephanie has more than two decades of experience working with victims of domestic violence and advocating on their behalf. This is the kind of experience that we have been saying we need on the Prisoner Review Board,” Johnson said, noting Love-Patterson also had the support of anti-domestic violence organizations and advocates. “I know Stephanie Love-Patterson. I know her heart, and I know her background. I know that she is more than qualified, capable, ready and willing to assume this important role.”

A second nominee drew contrasting reviews.

Melissa Ann Rogers Rollins of Pawnee, a former Sangamon County assistant state’s attorney who has also investigated state employee misconduct for the Office of the Executive Inspector General, sailed through the May 28 committee 6-0, with four Democrats voting in her favor.

But Chicago Democratic state Sen. Omar Aquino, who sits on the committee and was among the four Democrats voting in her favor, asked Rollins whether there were any crimes someone could commit that were so egregious as to disqualify her from considering granting parole.

“I do think that there are crimes that are so horrific that a person should not be released from jail,” Rollins said. “But each case I would decide on a case-by-case basis and look at the factors and the law to make my determination.”

When Aquino asked her to list what crimes to which she was referring, she said, “sexual abuse, mutilation, murder … School shootings. Something horrific and mass casualties.” But Rollins later stressed she’d review each case individually, consider the facts and decide from there.

Rollins’ appointment was not called for a full Senate vote before the spring session ended, which would have still enabled her to serve on the board for months or until 60 legislative session days were completed.

Plummer said later that he was “very disappointed” Rollins wasn’t confirmed by the full Senate and thought her appointment wasn’t called for a full vote by the Democratic-dominated Senate because “certain folks on the other side of the aisle weren’t happy with her positions on crime and justice.”

Late last week, after Rollins withdrew her name from consideration, Pritzker withdrew Rollins’ nomination but didn’t explain why.

“Last year, the Governor’s Office and Lieutenant Governor’s office worked with the legislature and stakeholders to pass and enact legislation to enhance the expertise and diversity of professional perspectives of PRB board members so the agency can effectively fulfill its critical public safety and statutory responsibilities,” Pritzker spokesperson Jillian Kaehler said in a statement. “This Spring, the Governor nominated five highly qualified candidates to serve on the Board. The four confirmed appointees bring extensive and diverse experience that will strengthen the Board’s work, including expertise in supporting survivors of domestic- and gender-based violence, working directly with incarcerated individuals through faith-based ministry, serving in probation services, and advocating for victims of child abuse.”

Three other new members were confirmed without controversy.

Corinne Briscoe has experience as a probation officer, managing operations for adult and juvenile probation in three downstate counties: Macoupin, Greene and Scott, her paperwork shows. She’s also acted as a liaison between various probation offices and the Illinois Supreme Court. Her appointment was confirmed 55-1 by the full Senate.

“I find myself very lucky because I have always felt like my professional roles had meaning and I believe an appointment to the Prisoner Review Board would as well,” Briscoe, of Roodhouse, told the committee. “I understand how important the work is and the role the board plays in public safety to the citizens of Illinois.”

An Air Force veteran, Michael C. Burns was a detective with the Bloomington Police Department who investigated allegations of child sexual abuse and other crimes, according to his appointment packet from the Senate. After leaving the department in 2018, he went to work for the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Illinois. His appointment was confirmed by the full Senate 56-0.

“My extensive experience in law enforcement gives me close knowledge of the complexities of the criminal justice system, which will enable me to make informed decisions as a board member,” Burns, of Metamora, said at the May 28 committee hearing. “I am skilled at conducting thorough investigations and due to the sensitive nature of my work, I am proficient in handling them with sensitivity, discretion and care.”

Emery Lindsay has been a church pastor, serving in leadership for the Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A., and has served on the Wheaton College board of trustees, according to his appointment paperwork. He was also confirmed 56-0 by the full Senate.

“I will give each case the time, attention and care it demands. I am also keenly aware of the vital role the Prisoner Review Board plays in public safety. The decisions made affect not only those petitioning the board but also victims, family members, communities and the state as a whole,” Lindsay, of Oak Park, said at his committee hearing. “I will approach this responsibility with gravity, thoughtfulness and respect.”

Each new board member will earn $147,911 a year.