The 85 petitions Quinn acted on Thursday date back to the January 2004 docket.
All those granted clemency have undergone criminal background checks.
With clemency, a governor can grant a pardon, commute a sentence, or expunge a conviction.
Quinn has acted on 895 clemency petitions since he took office in January 2009, granting 371 and denying 524.
He has granted 362 pardons and has authorized eight people who had already received pardons to seek expungement of their convictions. Quinn has granted one commutation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
