CHICAGO — Prosecutors in Chicago are continuing to resist efforts by individuals who have already been proven innocent to clear their records, raising ongoing questions about whether those records should remain or be formally expunged in the name of justice. Fighting for recognition of innocence remains the only path for many of these individuals to feel and be fully free.
A central figure in the case, Tyrece Williams, was exonerated in 2025 after spending 20 years in prison. He is now seeking a “certificate of innocence, in hopes of finally feeling free and seeing prosecutors admit they were wrong.”
After spending close to a decade in prison, Williams said it was time for his children to stop visiting him. He found the visits uncomfortable as he continued to provide his children with false explanations about why he was incarcerated.
Williams was released in 2009 after serving time for a 1990 murder in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. After his release, he became determined to clear his name and eventually found lawyers to assist him.
Even with legal support, Williams made it a priority to have a judge formally declare that he was not a murderer, which would grant him a certificate of innocence in his case. “These court orders give exonerated people access to modest state compensation and the right to remove their cases from court records to make it easier to get jobs and housing.”
Following this, civil rights attorneys often use such cases as evidence of ongoing abusive practices within the Chicago Police Department.
As a priority for his children, Williams said a certificate would serve an important purpose. According to Williams, “it’s particularly important to him to give his children an official document saying that what happened to their family was wrong.”
“This would mean the world to me, because they took the world from me. You are not free until you get that paper,” said Williams.
Despite his efforts, prosecutors under State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke have fought to prevent Williams from obtaining a certificate, arguing that it does not sufficiently prove his innocence.
Additionally, Williams’ case “has brought Burke to certificates of innocence since taking over from Kim Foxx 17 months ago, an Injustice Watch and Bolts analysis of court records found.”
Under Foxx, prosecutors objected to “only one out of every four certificates sought by exonerated people, in her second term.” In contrast, Burke’s office has objected in four out of five cases.
These disputes often develop into months-long proceedings involving prosecutors, particularly for individuals who have already spent years in prison.
Several factors weigh heavily on those affected, including “missing out on childhood youth, losing parents while incarcerated, and watching their children grow up without them.”
Among eight exonerated individuals who have already received certificates of innocence, many others continue to face barriers, including “still waiting, and ones who petition but are rejected by a judge, who said they wanted the certificates for a mix of practical and profound reasons.”
Burke has also focused on how her office will handle innocence claims in Cook County, responding in a way that suggests she does not recognize existing injustices that require correction.
Williams has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago police in federal court. Meanwhile, prosecutors under Burke are “now fighting Williams’ certificate of innocence and have denied in a court filing that Guevara abused the witness.”
“Not all police are bad,” said Williams. “I tell them this: Treat people how you want to be treated.”
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