The Illinois Innocence Project, based at the University of Illinois Springfield, announced the full exoneration of six clients in Cook County today after they collectively served 124 years in prison for a murder they did not commit.

Today in court, Cook County Judge Alfredo Maldonado, with agreement from the Cook County State’s Attorney's Office, vacated the wrongful murder conviction of Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) client Jerry Herrington, dismissing all charges and fully exonerating him. IIP is based at the University of Illinois Springfield.

A Cook County judge has overturned the wrongful murder conviction of Brian Beals, who spent 35 years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. The dismissal of all charges against Beals marks the end of a legal battle that began in 1988 when he was wrongly accused of murdering a 6-year-old boy in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood.

The Illinois Innocence Project (IIP), based at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS), held its first mandated statewide Wrongful Conviction Awareness and Avoidance (WCAA) training for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Police Training Institute (PTI) recruit officers on Friday, March 31, in Urbana.

A Cook County judge vacated the wrongful murder conviction of longtime UIS Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) client Marilyn Mulero and dismissed all charges against her. Mulero, a victim of notorious former Chicago Detective Reynaldo Guevara, spent nearly three decades in prison for a 1992 murder she did not commit.

The Third Annual Defenders of the Innocent Award Reception was held on May 24, 2010 at the Illinois Executive Mansion.

The Downstate Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois Springfield honored four individuals with Defender of the Innocent Awards on May 16, 2011. The awards were handed out as part of a 10th anniversary celebration and fundraiser at the Inn at 835 in Springfield.