This week marks six years since former Illinois Governor George Ryan put an emergency stop on executions.
Ryan left office in 2003 and current governor Rod Blagojevich kept his moratorium. But Illinois is still a capital punishment state and the reform process Ryan started is still underway.
That means this year’s race for governor could have big effects on the future of the death penalty in Illinois.
Chicago Public Radio’s Ben Calhoun looks at Illinois’ on-going struggle with capital punishment and what this crucial time could mean.