Located six hours from Chicago, Menard Correctional Center (Menard) is the largest maximum-security prison within the Illinois Department of Corrections. The John Howard Association (JHA) recently released a report that documents their monitoring visit to Menard. In the report, JHA cites many concerns with the 135 year old facility. Authors point out that the facility has serious maintenance needs that will cost the state $12 million, and that because of historic inadequate staffing levels and highly publicized incidents or staff misconduct, inmates do not trust the internal discipline or grievance procedures. However, the closures of other Illinois facilities have allowed staff to transfer to Menard, alleviating the staffing issue, and, since 2011, administrators have been working with staff to increase communication and accountability. Read the full report here.

Housing voucher recipients do cause an increase in neighborhood crime, but tend to find housing in already high-crime communities according to a new report from the Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy's Moelis Institute for Affordable Housing Policy. In Investigating the Relationship Between Housing Voucher Use and Crime, authors found that crime rates were high in neighborhoods with a high percentage of voucher holders before voucher recipients settled in them. These findings question whether the voucher program is succeeding in helping recipients reach safer, more advantaged neighborhoods, and debunks the myth that housing voucher recipients increase neighborhood crime. Access the report here.

A new report from The Sentencing Project suggests that while the initiative known as Justice Reinvestment has helped open a dialogue about justice system reform, it has not produced significant reductions in state correctional populations. Ending Mass Incarceration: Charting a New Justice Reinvestment highlights actions states can take to achieve the Justice Reinvestment initiative’s original mission, which is based on the principal of cutting justice system budgets and reinvesting the savings into communities that have the highest rates of incarceration. Authors suggest that states reduce all forms of incarceration and correctional supervision, reinvest in high incarceration communities, involve stakeholders and non-governmental entities in the planning and implementation processes, and create a multi-year plan for implementation and evaluation. Access the report here.

Legislation that would increase mandatory sentences by 1-2 years for unlawful use of weapons (UUW) offenses and subject them to truth-in-sentencing provisions (which would require people convicted of UUW offenses to serve 85 percent of their sentence) has been introduced in both the Illinois House and Senate. Supported by Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, these bills would have tremendous effects on the prison population and the Department of Corrections' budget. The Illinois Office of Management and Budget estimates that the law would cost more than $1 billion over ten years and increase the prison population by 4,000 people, forcing the construction of new prisons. IACJ encourages you to contact your State Senator and Representative and tell them that HB2265 and SB1003 are reactionary responses that will not deter crime and will cost the state millions. To access a memo from the John Howard Association, click here. To access a JHA fact sheet, click here. To read the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council analysis of the bill, click here. To use the ILGA Legislator Lookup Tool, click here.

In Illinois, 17-year-olds charged with felony crimes are tried in adult courts. However, new legislation introduced by State Representative Barbara Flynn Currie would raise the age of juvenile court to 18 for all offenses except when those youth are transferred to adult courts(serious, violent felonies are automatically transferred to adult court). IACJ encourages you to contact your State Representative and urge him or her to support HB 2404. Click here to access a fact sheet and other pertinent information from the Juvenile Justice Initiative.

Where repealing mandatory minimum sentencing laws is not possible because of political or legislative realities, advocates should push for “safety valve” laws, says a new report from Families Against Mandatory Minimums. A safety valve law allows sentencing courts to depart from statutorily assigned mandatory minimum sentences if certain requirements are met. The report highlights a federal safety law that went into effect in 1994 and allows judges to shorten sentences for individuals with first-time, low-level drug offenses. The report also underscores efforts in eight states to use safety valve laws to increase public safety and judicial discretion, and save on correctional spending. For example, in 2010, Minnesota saved $37.5 million and 1,200 prison beds, while violent crime declined. To read the full report, click here.

Only 5 percent of kids are arrested for violent crimes, but the other 95 percent often face the same fate, according to a new national communications project from the MacArthur Foundation. Mistakes Kids Make asks visitors about mistakes they made as children in order to spur conversations about the ways in which society often criminalizes those mistakes. The campaign website, which advocates juvenile justice reform, includes a survey, relevant statistics, stories about successful adults who made mistakes when they were younger, and a petition that visitors may sign to pledge to stand up to government decisions that criminalize youth mistakes. Click here to visit the website.

On March 23, Representatives from the newly formed Restorative Justice Committee of the Illinois House of Representatives held a town hall meeting at Loyola University. Dozens met in an overcrowded room to discuss what the Illinois legislature and advocates could do to disseminate the principles of restorative justice throughout the state. In addition to hearing speakers from the committee, the Sentencing Policy Advisory Council, The Gatekeepers Organization, and Community Justice for Youth Institute, attendees were invited to participate in break-out sessions that focused on juvenile justice, criminal justice, education, people with disabilities and seniors, and health law. To access the notes from the meeting, click here. To access pictures from the meeting, click here. Details pertaining to the next Restorative Justice Committee hearing follow:

April 29
10:00AM
Bilandic Building
C-600
160 N LaSalle St
Chicago, IL

A recent article from the American Civil Liberties Union highlights recent state efforts at reducing reliance on incarceration. According to the authors, eight states have had marijuana legalization bills introduced into their legislatures, and decriminalization bills have been introduced in nine. Eleven states have had medical marijuana bills introduced, and three have had Good Samaritan bills introduced. The article also highlights states' efforts at reforming mandatory minimum legislation, juvenile justice legislation, and legislation that would expand access to alternatives to incarceration. Read the full article here.

A recent editorial by the policy and advocacy director at Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation published in the Chicago Sun-Times calls for the end of felony charges for prostitution in Illinois. The editorial brings attention to a bill introduced in the Illinois General Assembly that would end the practice and could save the Department of Corrections $2 million annually. The author suggests that drug treatment and other services should be offered instead of punishment that disproportionately impacts people who are being prostituted compared to those who solicit the work. Read the article here.