Larry Hoover is the co-founder and former leader of the Gangster Disciples, one of the largest street gangs ever built in Chicago, and he has been locked up continuously since 1973. President Donald Trump commuted his six federal life sentences in May 2025, but Hoover did not walk free: a 150-to-200-year Illinois sentence for a 1973 murder is still in force, and as of mid-2026 his only remaining path out is a clemency petition sitting on Governor JB Pritzker’s desk.
Who Larry Hoover Is
Hoover was born on November 30, 1950. He joined the Supreme Gangsters at 12 and was leading the group by 1964. At 15 he formed a larger outfit called the Gangster Nation, which grew past a thousand members.1BlackPast. Larry Hoover (1950- ) In June 1969 he merged his organization with David Barksdale’s Black Disciple Nation to create the Black Gangster Disciple Nation. After Barksdale was seriously wounded later that year, Hoover took sole control of what became known as the Gangster Disciples.2Biography.com. Larry Hoover
By the 1980s, Hoover was running the gang from a prison cell under the title “Chairman of the Board,” with a formal hierarchy of directors, governors, regents, and coordinators, and mandatory training sessions on everything from economics to politics.3National Gang Crime Research Center. Profile of the Gangster Disciples The organization grew to an estimated 6,000-plus members active in at least five states and controlled much of the South Side drug trade. Federal prosecutors later put annual gross revenue near $100 million.4U.S. Department of Justice. Hoover v. United States – Opposition
In the late 1980s and early 1990s Hoover rebranded the gang’s “G.D.” initials as “Growth and Development” and launched voter registration drives, candidate campaigns, and a political action committee called 21st Century V.O.T.E. Federal authorities later alleged the civic apparatus was a front for laundering drug proceeds, and the PAC became part of the evidence against him.5Biography.com. Larry Hoover>6Los Angeles Times. Chicago Street Gang Indicted
The 1973 Murder That Put Him in Prison
On the evening of February 26, 1973, 19-year-old William “Pooky” Young was abducted and shot six times in the head and once in the arm. His body was found in an alley near 86th Street and Lowe Avenue in Englewood. Prosecutors said Hoover, then leading a gang called “the Family,” ordered the killing in retaliation for Young robbing one of his drug houses.7vlex. People v. Hoover
Hoover and co-defendant Andrew Howard, identified as the triggerman, were tried together and convicted in December 1973. Each was sentenced to 150 to 200 years in Illinois state prison.7vlex. People v. Hoover Howard was paroled more than 30 years ago, a disparity Hoover’s attorneys now cite in their clemency filings.8ABC News. Months After Trump’s Commutation, Larry Hoover Pushes Pritzker The Illinois Prisoner Review Board denied Hoover parole in 1993 and again in December 2022, voting 10-1 against release and finding that letting him out would “deprecate the serious nature of the offenses and promote a lack of respect for the law.”9Illinois Prisoner Review Board. En Banc Minutes, December 15, 2022
The Federal Case
Around 1989 or 1990, federal agents opened an investigation into the gang’s leadership that was eventually named Operation Headache. The joint DEA, Chicago Police, and federal effort relied on court-authorized wiretaps of both street phones and prison phones. The decisive piece of surveillance was a transmitter hidden in a visitor’s badge at the Illinois prison holding Hoover, which captured him directing drug distribution and discussing the gang’s ability to corrupt staff.10The Spokesman-Review. Chicago Drug Gang Takes Hit11Chicago Tribune. 39 Gangster Disciples Indicted
On August 31, 1995, Hoover and 38 others were named in a 50-count federal indictment alleging a 25-year conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin and seeking forfeiture of $10 million in profits.6Los Angeles Times. Chicago Street Gang Indicted12Justia. United States v. Hoover, 246 F.3d 10544U.S. Department of Justice. Hoover v. United States – Opposition
Hoover was sent to the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado, the most restrictive federal prison in the country. His attorneys reported he spent nearly 30 years there in solitary conditions, confined to his cell at least 21 hours a day.13CBS News Chicago. Larry Hoover Gangster Disciples Sentence Commuted Testifying later by video, Hoover told a judge: “I’m a completely different person than the man who went to prison in 1997. I’m very reflective here at ADX. You’re locked up at least 21 hours a day. I have no desire to run the G.D.’s or be involved in any criminal activity.”14WGN-TV. Larry Hoover Testifies in Court Seeking Early Release From Life Sentences
Trump’s 2025 Commutation
On May 28, 2025, President Trump commuted Hoover’s six federal life sentences and ordered his immediate release from federal custody. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed he left its custody on May 29.15Chicago Sun-Times. Larry Hoover Federal Sentence Commuted by Trump16Trump White House Archives. Remarks by President Trump in Meeting With Kanye West and Jim Brown17Billboard. Kanye West and Drake Free Larry Hoover Concert Larry Hoover Jr. credited Ye after the commutation: “It started a long time ago with Kanye. Kanye put us on the platform.”18Billboard. Larry Hoover Jr. Thanks Kanye West
Law enforcement voices who worked the original case condemned the move. Ron Safer, the former lead federal prosecutor at the 1997 trial, said: “There are some crimes that are so heinous, so notorious, that they’re not deserving of mercy.” Chicago FBI Special Agent in Charge Doug DePodesta said Hoover “caused a lot of damage in Chicago” and predicted he would “continue serving time in state prison where he belongs.”8ABC News. Months After Trump’s Commutation, Larry Hoover Pushes Pritzker
A presidential commutation reaches only federal sentences. Hoover’s 150-to-200-year Illinois sentence for the murder of William Young was untouched, and he was transferred from federal custody to the Colorado State Penitentiary, where he is now held as an Illinois state prisoner.19Chicago Sun-Times. Larry Hoover Files State Clemency Petition
The Illinois Clemency Fight
In October 2025, Hoover’s attorney Justin Moore filed a 121-page clemency petition with the Illinois Prisoner Review Board asking Governor Pritzker to commute the state sentence. Breaking a 25-year public silence, Hoover wrote two letters, one to a judge and one to the public, renouncing the Gangster Disciples. He wrote that he wanted “nothing to do with that life ‘now and forever'” and that he wanted his “legacy to be peace.”8ABC News. Months After Trump’s Commutation, Larry Hoover Pushes Pritzker
The petition argued that Hoover, now 74, had undergone a “profound personal transformation,” had committed no serious prison infractions, and had completed more than 100 educational and rehabilitation programs. His lawyers cited failing health, including three heart attacks since his transfer to Colorado, one of them in September 2025 while he was performing prison labor, and called continued imprisonment a “slow, state-sanctioned death sentence.”20Chicago Tribune. Larry Hoover Clemency Petition Illinois Supporters named in the filing and public advocacy include Alice Marie Johnson, Jesse Jackson Sr., Rev. Al Sharpton, Representative Jonathan Jackson, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Chance the Rapper, Judge Greg Mathis, and Rev. Michael Pfleger.21Chicago Sun-Times. Larry Hoover Clemency Bid Now in Pritzker’s Hands
The Illinois Prisoner Review Board held a clemency hearing on April 7, 2026. Hoover did not attend. His legal team, which by then included former federal prosecutor and judge John Gleeson, argued he poses “no risk of danger to the community” and that his sentence rests on a state structure that no longer exists. Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Enrique Abraham opposed the petition, arguing that clemency would “ignore the seriousness of the killing” of William Young and that Hoover remains dangerous because he has historically carried out criminal acts “vicariously through surrogates.” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke formally asked the governor to deny the petition.22Chicago Sun-Times. Larry Hoover Clemency Hearing
Where He Is Now
As of mid-2026, the Prisoner Review Board has forwarded its confidential recommendation to Governor Pritzker, according to board spokeswoman Liz Mitchell. Pritzker faces no legal deadline to act. Hoover remains incarcerated at the Colorado State Penitentiary, one of 35 people still serving time under Illinois’ pre-1978 indeterminate sentencing system.23Chicago Tribune. Larry Hoover Clemency Bid Governor Pritzker8ABC News. Months After Trump’s Commutation, Larry Hoover Pushes Pritzker