'Pardon Czar' Alice Marie Johnson Hopes Illinois Gov Will Release Larry Hoover

Alice Marie Johnson says Larry Hoover's federal prison sentence was commuted to give him the hope of receiving a real second chance ... but he still has years to serve in an Illinois prison for a state crime, and Alice hopes the Illinois governor might grant him clemency as well.

We spoke with President Donald Trump's "pardon czar" on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... and, we asked her about Trump's decision to commute Hoover's federal sentence.

She tells us she first learned about Larry's case from Kanye West and Drake's live-streamed event at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum back in 2021, where she was sitting first row at the event and learned of Larry's plight.

While Alice knows Larry's commutation doesn't set him free, she says each step they take is one in the right direction toward eventually releasing him from incarceration.

Hoover helped found the notorious Gangster Disciples in Chicago ... he was convicted of murder in Illinois in 1973 and was sentenced to 200 years in prison. In 1997, he was convicted in federal court of running the gang from behind bars -- and he was handed 6 life sentences. Trump's commutation released him from the federal sentencing, but he's still on the hook for the Illinois term.

AMJ hopes Illinois Governor JB Pritzker will "have the same mercy that President Trump had on Larry Hoover" ... before labeling Trump the "second-chance president" because he's looking to give incarcerated people another chance at life.

DJT did just that for Johnson back in 2020 ... commuting her sentence in 2018 before granting her a full pardon in August 2020. She was previously serving a life sentence for drug and money laundering charges. A commutation reduces a sentence ... a pardon forgives the crime and erases it from the record.

Alice also answered our questions about the Chrisleys' pardons ... she said she actually brought their case to Trump for review -- instead of the president going out of his way to help a couple fellow reality stars.

Some have questioned whether Trump's pardon was really about the work Todd and Julie did behind bars ... or if their daughter Savannah's support may have swayed him. Johnson was a little cagey on that here.

We also asked Alice about Joe Exotic's desire to be pardoned ... watch the clip to the end to hear about the likelihood of that happening.