Insights & Information

The Second Chance Act is federal legislation passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed into law in April 2008. It employs an evidence-based approach to improving outcomes for people returning to communities from prisons and jails by authorizing federal grants to government agencies and nonprofit organizations to provide employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, housing, family programming, mentoring, victims support, and other services that can help reduce recidivism. Recently, the Senate eliminated funding for the Second Chance Act in their version of the FY 12 funding bill for the Department of Justice. In July, the House Appropriations Committee provided $70 million in their fiscal year 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill. Although funding was eliminated in the Senate bill, there is still time to restore funding for the program when the House and Senate Appropriations Committees attempt to resolve differences between the two spending bills. There is still time to ensure that the Second Chance Act is funded in FY 2012. The Senate and House are working on FY12 funding now. To contact your Members of Congress and ask them to support funding for Second Chance Act, click here.

A bipartisan national criminal justice commission proposed by Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) was blocked in the Senate last week. The Commission would be charged to conduct a thorough evaluation of the nation’s criminal justice system and offer non-binding recommendations to federal, state and local leaders. IACJ board member and TASC president Pam Rodriguez asserted that, "When we go to make changes in our state, the first thing we get asked is what are other people’s ideas on this, where’s the evidence for this strategy. If the national commission was to convene, they would have the evidence and we could point there.” To read more from Stateline.org’s Maggie Clark, click here.

IACJ Board Member Pamela Rodriguez, president of Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC), Loyola University Chicago professor of psychology and criminology Arthur Lurigio, and National Development and Research Institute's (NDRI) Harry Wexler are featured authors of the Prison Journal’s landmark publication on criminal justice reform. The publication, "Criminal Justice Reform: Issues and Recommendations for Corrections," presents a series of articles by the nation's premier criminal justice research authorities who discuss the current criminal justice crisis and solutions. Individuals incarcerated, on probation, or on parole now total 7.3 million (one in every 31 adults, an increase of 290% since 1980). The number of individuals with drug offenses in prisons and jails, many of whom have no history of violence or major drug trafficking, has increased 1200% since 1980. To read more, click here.

On October 24, 2011, Governor Pat Quinn announced a number of appointments to the state’s more than 320 boards and commissions, including the Prisoner Review Board, to which he appointed three members: Charles Bowers, Edith Crigler, and Eric Althoff. Charles Bowers of Edwards, former police offer from Peoria and a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves, has served on the Prisoner Review board since 2006. Edith Crigler of Chicago, president of the Chicago Jobs Council’s Board of Directors and City Wide Restorative Justice committee member, was appointed by Governor Quinn to the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission in 2010. Eric Althoff of Effingham, Effingham County coroner and volunteer firefighter for over 20 years, has served on the Prisoner Review Board since 2004.

Governor Quinn is currently conducting a top-to-bottom review of Illinois’ boards and commissions to seek out ways to increase efficiency and save costs. Citizens who are interested in serving on boards and commissions can now apply online. For more information on all of the state’s boards and commissions, click here.

Join the National Reentry Resource Center and Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network for a webinar, "Innovations in Substance Abuse Treatment: Continuing Care and Medicated Assisted Treatments for the Criminal Justice Population." Presenters will discuss the impact of a “continuing care model” to treat substance use disorders on the outcomes of justice-involved individuals. Presenters will also discuss medications for the treatment of alcohol and opioid addiction in relation to their effect on the brain and use with justice-involved individuals.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011
1:00-2:30 p.m. Central Time
To register for this webinar, click here.

Of major concern to many Americans, youth drug use has undergone significant increases after a decade of decline, due in part to decreases in perceptions of harm and increases in availability. Meanwhile, funding for explicit drug prevention has been cut, despite evidence that effective drug prevention can lead to reductions in use. The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) has circulated a petition to ensure drug prevention is on the White House’s We the People website, which provides a forum for petitions. Of the drug-related petitions on the site, 12 are currently in support of marijuana legalization and decriminalization, yet no other petitions currently support drug prevention. Twenty-five-thousand signatures are needed by November 4, and all individuals older than 13 are eligible to sign the petition. Click here to sign the petition.

Save the date for a summit and press conference on a proposed law to seal additional offenses, increasing the likelihood that ex-offenders can get a second chance at jobs, housing, and education in Illinois.

Saturday, October 29, 2011
9:00AM – 5:00PM
United for Better Living, Inc.
4540 W. Washington Blvd, Chicago, IL
For more info, call 773-738-1480

On October 5, 2011, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan discussed two initiatives intended to slow the increase in new methamphetamine production methods that make it more difficult to detect. Long committed to stopping meth use and production in Illinois, Madigan has advocated tough laws cracking down on the sale of pseudoephedrine (the key meth ingredient) and strengthened penalties for those convicted of meth-related offenses. Madigan plans to work with State Senator William Haine and Representative Jerry Costello II in the legislature's upcoming veto session to extend the program that allows pharmacies to block illegal sales of pseudoephedrine. Madigan also made public an awareness campaign targeting people who buy pills for meth cooks. To read more of this Times Record article, click here.

A $200,000 federal grant will allow Will County Drug Court, which provides drug addiction resources and treatment for people with non-violent offenses, to increase the number of program participants dealing with heroin addiction. As part of the Drug Court program, successful participants of this program have their charges dropped. Will County officials report that 32 percent of drug court clients reported heroin as their primary addiction and 26 deaths from heroin overdose in 2010 (21 so far in 2011). The grant money will allow the Drug Court to expand drug testing and monitoring as well as provide resources (e.g. education, recovery support, relapse prevention, nutrition, vocational testing, job skills and parenting skills). To read more of the TribLocal article by Mary Owen, click here.

A new report by the Brennan Center for Justice indicates that state governments across the country have recently enacted an array of new laws making it harder to register or to vote. Two states have reversed earlier reforms and once again disenfranchised millions who have past criminal convictions but who are now taxpaying members of the community. Still others have made it much more difficult for citizens to register to vote, a prerequisite for voting. These new restrictions fall most heavily on young, minority, and low-income voters, as well as on voters with disabilities. The analysis shows that these new laws could make it significantly harder for more than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012. The states that have already cut back on voting rights will provide 171 electoral votes in 2012 (63 percent of the 270 needed to win the presidency). Of the 12 likely battleground states, five have already cut back on voting rights (and may pass additional restrictive legislation), and two more are currently considering new restrictions. To read more of this report, click here.