Insights & Information

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.

Please join us:

Sunday, March 18, 2012, 3:00 PM
Safer Foundation, 571 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago

IACJ will recognize the work of:

• U.S. Senator Dick Durbin for sponsoring the Fair Sentencing Act, signed into law in 2010 and reduces the sentencing disparity in the mandatory penalties for possession of crack versus powder cocaine. Senator Durbin is unable to attend on March 18 and his award will be presented at a later date.


• U.S. Congressman Danny K. Davis for sponsoring the Second Chance Act, originally signed into law in 2008 and provides federal seed grants for programs that assist individuals released from prison to successfully reenter society


• IL State Senator Mattie Hunter for leading the Illinois Disproportionate Justice Impact Study Commission, which addresses racial disparities in justice system’s response to drug crimes


• IL State Senator Kwame Raoul for sponsoring the Illinois Crime Reduction Act, which invests in community-based solutions to nonviolent, drug-related crime

With corrections reform at the top of state and federal policy agendas, this is an opportunity to recognize legislators whose leadership has been, and continues to be, instrumental in improving policy.

RSVP: To confirm your attendance, please send an email with your name, title, and organization/affiliation to Jon.Kaplan@SaferFoundation.org.

We look forward to seeing you on March 18!

Passage of the federal Fair Sentencing Act in August 2010 reduced the 100-to-1 sentencing disparity for crack cocaine offenses and eliminated the five-year mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine, reforming a law that caused racial disparity. The reform is part of a larger movement to reconsider long mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenses that pervade sentencing policy in the U.S. A new report by Kara Gotsch, director of advocacy at The Sentencing Project, outlines efforts culminating with the passage of the Fair Sentencing Act and points to the unfinished sentencing reform agenda. The report highlights the importance of the reform internationally, given the U.S. role of prominence in reducing substance abuse. To read the report, click here.

The New York Times reports that the United States Sentencing Commission has released a comprehensive report finding that federal mandatory minimum sentences are often excessively severe, unwarranted, and inconsistently applied, especially for individuals convicted of drug trafficking (over 75 percent) and individuals with prior convictions. Mandatory minimums have nearly tripled the number of federal prisoners in the past 20 years to 208,000 in 2009, and putting federal prisons 37 percent over capacity. The report also highlights racial disparities in sentencing. In some cases, mandatory minimums can be reduced for incarcerated individuals if the crime did not involve violence or a gun, but most African-American individuals could not meet these or other qualifications (only 39 percent qualified for a reduction, compared to 64 percent of whites). The report recommends revisiting policy on mandatory minimum sentences to bolster confidence in the federal criminal justice system. To read a New York Times editorial about this report, click here. To read the full report, click here.

In times of austerity, it can be very difficult for elected officials to advance any significant agenda items while also balancing a budget. The Cook County Board of Commissioners president, Toni Preckwinkle, is trying to reduce the number of individuals (currently 100,000 in Cook County annually) in the Cook County jail and the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. Ms. Preckwinkle cites the high costs of incarceration at $143 per inmate per day at Cook County jail and over $600 per person per day at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. Ms. Preckwinkle has set specific goals to reduce the prison population, and currently, many other different proposals are being considered as well. To read more of this New York Times article by Adrienne Lu, 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.

(From ICJIA's CJ DISPATCH, 27 July, 2011). In response to the growth of Illinois' correctional populations, and to ensure that sentencing policy is effective and efficient, the state created the Sentencing Policy Advisory Council (SPAC) and passed The Crime Reduction Act of 2009. Through its enabling legislation, SPAC is mandated to conduct research and analysis regarding sentencing policy and practices in Illinois, and to examine how these impact correctional populations in the state. SPAC's report provides an overview of the Illinois' sentenced populations and the forces that influence the population's size and type of sentencing. It also discusses how criminal justice practices have changed in Illinois over the past 20 years, with a specific emphasis on changes in sentencing practices. To read the full research brief, click here.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission voted unanimously today to make their crack guideline reductions retroactive. Last August, Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced from 100:1 to 18:1 the disparity between crack and powder cocaine mandatory minimum sentences. The Commission followed suit by reducing its sentencing guideline for crack offenses in accordance with the new law. The Commission’s vote today extends the reduced penalties to the sentencing guidelines portion of crack prisoners’ sentences. An estimated 12,040 people will be eligible to ask the court for reduced sentences. Average sentence reductions are expected to be 37 months. Advocates including Families Against Mandatory Minimums are now urging Congress to make the legislative change to mandatory minimums currently on the law books to reflect the commission's recommendation. To read more, click here.

The U.S Sentencing Commission is meeting June 01, 2011, to consider whether or not to make the new crack-cocaine sentencing guidelines that resulted from the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act retroactive. Many inmates, family members, and advocates have already contacted the commission voicing their support for this action. If made retroactive, inmates who received more than the mandatory minimum sentence prior to passage of the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act could have their sentences reduced. For more on this story, click here.

Together the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice and the Chicago Council of Lawyers have authored a report outlining a plan to implement a Cook County Diversion Court. The court would divert non-violent offenders with substance abuse or mental health issues to supervision and treatment and provide the opportunity to avoid a felony conviction upon successful completion. According to the authors, the diversion court could save money while reducing crime, incarceration, and unemployment among graduates. For more on this report, click here.