Incarceration Reform

The spring session of the Illinois General Assembly created a busy time for citizens and advocates in defending last year’s justice reforms, including the Pretrial Justice Act, and opposing additional ineffective punitive measures for those accused of a crime and those who have served their time.  There is a summary of the results of those efforts on this website under the subheading Advocacy In Illinois and at the tab Getting Involved.  

The revised documents that you will find at the tabs Upcoming Online Events, Books, Reports and Articles and Getting Involved also highlight new online resources and reports:

• discussing the disfunction and injustice in Illinois prisons and what is needed to reform them,
• providing digital exhibitions and an activation kit for Envisioning Justice,
• focusing on the scope of juvenile incarceration and the impact of our increasing incarceration of women who are mothers, and
• highlighting the development of advocacy and resources to improve the lives of those who have served their time.

The purpose of this post is to highlight links to a number of upcoming online programs in which we can participate as we gear up to tackle Justice Reform in 2022, which appear in the revised documents at the tab Upcoming Online Events and at the tab Getting Involved.  The revised documents at the tab Books, Reports and Articles and at the tab Sources of Support for Returning Citizens contain links to new reports related to promoting just outcomes for young offenders and to information about additional organizations devoted to improving the lives of those who have been released from prison.

The new year brings important new initiatives in

• reducing the barriers and increasing the support for people returning from prison,
• supporting the full implementation of last year’s landmark justice reform legislation in Illinois, including the Pretrial Fairness Act,
• continuing to transform our system of juvenile justice,
• expanding the use of restorative justice practices, and
• and challenging racial disparities at every level of our criminal legal system.

Please link to information about some of them in the revised documents that you will find in the sections of the website on Getting Involved, Sources of Information, Volunteer opportunities and Upcoming Online Events. 

Once again we approach the end of the year with many reasons to appreciate the dedication of individuals and organizations whose efforts continue to shine a light on the failures of our criminal legal system, to develop and implement changes that will bring justice and overcome racial bias, and to serve those harmed by the cycle of trauma and violence caused by the punitive approach that we take to criminal justice.

Here is a list of organizations that are making important contributions to those efforts and that are worthy of our year-end financial support, including links that you can use to learn more about their work and to make a donation.

[And by clicking here you can make a tax deductible contribution to CDLU.org – www.cdlu.org, the nonprofit organization that created this website.]

We are also called to take some time over the holidays to continue to consider how we can address the racial disparities in our criminal legal system.  We can get some help in maintaining that focus:

• by watching the program on Challenging Racial Disparities to End Mass Incarceration being presented by The Sentencing Project on Wednesday December 1 at 1:00 CST (register to participate at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_630m4oj-Rkezbtdf94xd9A?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=3c564d07-adac-4d79-9d05-6ece3e01307a)
• by watching the new Brave New Films documentary Racially Charged: America’s Misdemeanor Problem, accessible at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm2PxE0HMr4&t=4s, and
• by checking out the report released last month by the Sentencing Project on The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Diversity in State Prisons, clicking on: The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons.

Please also use the links in the revised document under the tab Getting Involved, and in the revised documents listing reports and online resources under the tab Sources of Information and Ideas:

• to participate in some of the online events being presented between now and December 7,
• to join the new Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice,
• to watch some of the programs mentioned there that are now available online, and
• to consult some of the important new reports on conditions in our prisons, on reforming the reentry experience, on the status of justice reform in Illinois, and on addressing mass incarceration through social investments.

I hope that you and your families will also find time to enjoy the holidays and that you will find new sources of inspiration and energy as we emerge from some of the limitations and distractions of the past two years.

From the Desk of John McLees…

The documents you can access in the sections of the website titled Getting Involved, Upcoming Online Events, and Other Sources and Ideas highlight links to several opportunities in September and October to participate in programs presented by organizations that are leading justice reform efforts in Illinois, and new reports addressing some of the many sources of injustice in our systems of prosecution, incarceration, and ongoing punishment of those who have been released from prison and from jail.

We hope that you will consider participating in some of those programs and that you will use them and the many links to other books, reports and online resources as the basis for getting involved in reforming our criminal legal system.

The annual Injustice For All Film Festival took place online from August 12 through 21.  You can find details about the films being shown and about how to register to view them WITHOUT CHARGE at: https://watch.eventive.org/injusticeforallff. 

You can watch the Opening Night of the festival, featuring Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries and the film Trapped – Cash Bail in America, at: Https://watch.eventive.org/injusticeforallff/play/60f058413e3cb8005953e677

The festival features films on Mass Incarceration, Racism, Police Accountability, People Power, Restoration and Recovery, Domestic Violence, Immigration, Bail Reform, and Racial Discrimination in Housing.  

The revised documents at the heading “Getting Involved” and the other headings in this website contains links to other new resources, in addition to those highlighted in earlier blog posts below.

From the Desk of John McLees…

Work continues on all fronts in the fight for justice in the criminal legal system and in the mechanisms by which we impose permanent punishment on those who have been incarcerated.

The revised document at the heading “Getting Involved” also highlights the launch by the Heartland Alliance and others in Illinois of the Fully Free Campaign: https://fullyfree.org/ to end our system of permanent punishment of those who have been incarcerated.

Both that document and the document attached under the heading “Other Sources of Information and Ideas” also contain links to many reports that deserve our attention, including new reports on:

• the reform agendas of Sharone Mitchell, the new Cook County Public Defender, and Kim Foxx, the Cook County State’s Attorney,
• the financial exploitation of inmates and their families by the Illinois Department of Corrections,
• the reality of parole in America as an endless trap and engine for reincarceration,
• the increasing impact of life imprisonment in the United States, even for relatively minor offenses,
• the pitfalls facing counties from well-funded campaigns to build big new costly jails,
• the exploitation and harsh treatment of inmates with disabilities in U.S. prisons, and
• the alarming rise in deaths of inmates in U.S. prisons and jails. xx

There are also links in the document under the heading Advocacy in Illinois to enable you to communicate efficiently with your Illinois legislators on:

• the importance of rejecting any proposals to repeal or modify the Illinois Pretrial Justice Act that was enacted in January, and

• the need for the state senate in Illinois to approve HB 1064 to eliminate life without parole sentences for most people 20 and younger.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the CDLU. 

From the Desk of John McLees…

Please consider participating in some of the many useful programs that are available to you online in the coming week and later in April, for which you will find links in the attached summary of resources for supporting justice reform.

Please also contact your legislators to support some of the many important bills now under consideration in the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly, many of which listed and discussed on pages 3 and 4 of the attachment.

There are also new links to some of the ongoing stream of reports on important issues of justice reform that are worth our attention.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the CDLU. As a 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt organization, the CDLU does not support or oppose any form of legislation, nor do we advocate on behalf of or against any candidates.

From the Desk of John McLees…

We are celebrating the Illinois General Assembly’s passage in January 2021 of a momentous omnibus criminal justice reform act, and the long awaited repeal in December of the Federal ban on the use of Pell grants to finance programs of college instruction in state and Federal prisons.

But the need for action doesn’t end.  We need to act now to counter the wave of attacks based on false information and fear mongering that has descended on the Illinois legislators who voted for justice reform and on Governor Pritzker, who needs to sign the legislation to enact it into law.

Therefore please go to the links on the first page of the document that is attached at the heading “Getting Involved” and take a few minutes

• to complete the automated process of contacting your legislators to thank them for voting for the bill or letting them know the that you disagree with their failure to do so, and
• to complete the very simple process of asking the Governor to sign House Bill 3653.

In the first two pages of that document, and in the document that is attached at the heading “Developments in Illinois and Federal Justice,” you will find links to information about the many important provisions of the Illinois legislation: on policing, on conditions of arrest, imprisonment and mandatory supervised release, on ending prison gerrymandering, on victim compensation, and on pretrial justice.  The Pretrial Justice Fairness Act is an important part of the legislation, and you can watch a presentation of the provisions and significance of that Act, which was filmed prior to the approval of the bill by clicking here.

The document that is attached at the heading “Getting Involved” and the documents that are attached under the heading “Sources of Information and Ideas” also contain links to new reports that are important resources for guiding justice reform efforts in Illinois and nationally, and to other upcoming online events where you can learn more about ongoing justice reform efforts and how get involved in those efforts in the coming year.

From the Desk of John McLees…

We approach the end of the year with many reasons to appreciate the dedication of organizations and individuals, including many public officials, whose efforts continue to shine a light on the failures of our justice system, to help those suffering from the consequences, and to develop and implement changes that will bring justice and overcome racial bias. 

Here is a list of organizations that are making important contributions to improving our justice system and that are worthy of our year-end financial support, including links that you can use to learn more about their work and to make a donation.

[And this website is maintained by CDLU.org and you can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking here.]

Please also use the links in the Reports section of the website under the heading Sources of Information and Ideas and the subheading Other Sources of Information and Ideas to access some of the important recent reports mentioned there, including:

• a November 2020 study from the Guggenheim Foundation concluding that releasing 25 percent of the prisoners in the Illinois Department of Corrections would not result in an increase in crime,
• a November 2020 study from Loyola University Chicago concluding that reducing the use of cash bail has not resulted in an increase in crime in Cook county,
• a November 2020 report from the Prison Policy Institute concluding that releasing people pretrial does not harm public safety,
• a November 2020 statement from a large number of former parole and probation officers calling for probation and parole to be shorter, less punitive and more equitable, and
• a June 2020 report from the Heartland Alliance on the scale and impact of permanent punishment of people with criminal records in Illinois.

Consider including some of these in your holiday reading and in your consideration of how you can make a difference in helping to bring justice to Illinois and across the country in the coming year.

We hope that you and your families will find ways to relax and celebrate during this unusual holiday season.