tag: Criminal Justice

For anyone who’s ever been arrested, charged, or convicted of a crime, that criminal record can make it hard to find a job. Many people are eligible for criminal record relief that would either destroy or seal their record from public view. But the process of applying can be complicated and expensive.

Simple, everyday tasks  – like ordering coffee, crossing the street, or getting gas – can be an obstacle, or an intimidating challenge for people recently released from prison. This is especially true for people who have spent many years behind bars.

In recent years, county jails across the nation have taken steps to try to keep inmates with mental illness from cycling in and out of jail. One approach involves stepped up mental health screening, coupled with efforts to get inmates plugged into community-based treatment after they are released.

Last year, the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) spent $276 on books for its educational programming across 28 correctional facilities, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. In the early 2000s, however, the state prison system spent roughly $750,000 each year on books. The dramatic decrease in funding stands in contrast to research that shows educational programming for inmates can significantly impact recidivism rates. Prison librarians, academics and a former Illinois inmate all agree that prison libraries play an important role in that work. 

Five of the six Democrats running for governor were in Peoria over the Martin Luther King Day weekend. They were making largely similar cases to voters at a forum on criminal and economic justice.

The Champaign County Racial Justice Task Force has 31 recommendations for the county to improve racial disparity in the local criminal justice system. 

The Illinois criminal justice system has become increasingly reliant on fees. People convicted of crimes have become money makers for state and local government — paying for everything from prosecutors' offices to new police cars.

In an era of political gridlock, one of the few topics on which there's been hope of bipartisan cooperation is on the issues of crime and punishment. Politicians have traditionally been averse to doing anything that could get them painted as being "soft on crime." It's an easy attack, and one that's been frequently deployed in the past. But this year, criminal justice reform advocates are fighting back, as in the case of an Illinois Democrat facing scare-mongering ads about criminal justice reform. 

Hillary Clinton is embracing the symbolism of Abraham Lincoln's "House Divided" speech, arguing the nation needs to repair its divisions after a series of high-profile shootings. In a speech in Springfield,
Clinton said the Republican Party of Lincoln had been transformed into the "party of Trump," warning her opponent would divide Americans.

The Democratic presidential candidate spoke Friday at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where the primarily student audience packed a 4,000-seat campus basketball arena.  Sanders touched on familiar campaign themes, calling for campaign finance reform, marijuana decriminalization and increased corporate taxes.