Gray isn’t the only person incarcerated in Illinois prisons that isn’t able to further their education. A lack of teachers, funding and the department’s own policies prevent many from obtaining their GED, associates degree or a trade skill. 

An Illinois Department of Corrections policy stipulates that once a class is full, inmates are placed on the waiting list in order of their release date, with those getting out soonest receiving priority.

Earlier this year, hundreds of books were removed from the college in prison program’s library inside the educational wing of the Danville prison. Documents obtained by Illinois Newsroom shine a light on why the books were removed, and who was responsible for their removal.

The new director of the Illinois Department of Corrections said during a legislative hearing in Chicago on Monday that the agency plans to revise its policy regarding what books can and cannot enter the prison. 

Governor J.B. Pritzker has nominated an Ohio prison official to lead the Illinois Department of Corrections.