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.

The Council of State Governments Justice Center released a report comparing three-year recidivism rates among seven states that have recently implemented targeted and evidence-based reentry reforms. Among the seven states, the report cites that recidivism rates decreased as much as 18 percent and not less than 6 percent. This is encouraging evidence that effective, evidence-based reforms can improve public safety and save tax dollars. Read the full report here.

A new study by the Vera Institute of Justice and Pew Center on the States examines the relationship between prison populations and corrections and community corrections spending. The authors find that despite policies aimed at reducing the number of people incarcerated and shifting public opinion on crime and punishment, there is no relationship between the number of people incarcerated and the amount that a state may spend on corrections or community corrections. In interviews, policymakers and corrections administrators proposed that the lack of success of policy decisions, the continuing expense of the increasing population in prisons, labor unions, and public sentiment have contributed to the finding. To access the full report and a fact sheet, click here.

As the population of the Illinois' Department of Corrections nears 50,000, the proportion of resources that IDOC must use for healthcare is growing, and with that, the resources available for programs that can reduce recidivism are on the decline. A recent report published by the John Howard Association of Illinois highlights the burdens of this healthcare system and provides fifteen recommendations to improve it. Not only does the inadequate healthcare systems in Illinois prisons effect the lives of those that occupy cells, if improperly treated, once released, releasees may bring communicable diseases to his or her community. To improve the prison healthcare system, JHA suggests that IDOC provide the female population gender-based programming, that IDOC and state legislators study alternatives to incarceration for Illinois’ growing elderly incarcerated population, and that IDOC prepare to enroll inmates in Medicaid in 2014. To read the other recommendations, view the full report here.

In February, the John Howard Association (JHA) visited three Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) southern facilities: IYC-Harrisburg, IYC-Murphysboro, and IYC-Pere Marquette, and have released a report with the group's findings and assessment of these facilities. The report includes focus on treatment programs, education, vocational programs, re-entry preparation, staff/youth relations, and physical conditions. JHA recommended areas for improvement at all three facilities, but also reports that they were impressed by many of the programs administered. The group advocates for continued efforts in youth re-entry preparation and supports the Governor's plan to close two of the facilities. To read the full report, click here.

SB 2621 passed the Illinois Senate this week, and is now headed to the House for consideration. Sponsored by Sen. Kwame Raoul and Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, the proposal addresses the crowded conditions in Illinois prisons, where the population has spiked to 49,000 in a system designed to hold about 34,000. Forty percent of those currently incarcerated are being held for non-violent offenses. Restoring the prison population to its 2009 numbers will save taxpayers more than $150 million annually. By establishing a responsible sentence credit system, SB2621 will provide a safe, cost-effective way to reduce the prison population. For more information and updates on the bill's progress, visit the Coalition for Prison Reform or the bill's status page.

With the release of his budget recommendations for FY13, Governor Quinn announced the closure of two juvenile justice facilities (Murphysboro and Joliet). While there are mixed review of this plan, some criminal justice reform advocates have come out in support of the plan on the grounds that it could both save the state money and permit youth to receive rehabilitative services and treatments in their communitites rather than behind bars. Additionally, the Governor wants to close two adult facilities (Tamms "supermax" prison, and Dwight) and six transitional centers, which serve as halfway houses for people leaving prison and returning to their communities. To read media coverage of the budget and closures, click here, here, here, and here.

Read responses to the Governor's budget and planned closures from several IACJ member organizations: 

• Safer Foundation
• TASC
• John Howard Association

Before Illinois' meritorious good time (MGT) program was suspended in 2010, individuals serving time in Illinois prisons for non-violent offenses could have up to 180 days of incarceration deducted as a reward for good behavior. MGT was halted when it became clear that some individuals were being released before they had spent sufficient time in IDOC. This issue has since been resolved, and Illinois law now requires inmates to serve at least 60 days in prison before they can receive any good time credit.

Since MGT was suspended, Illinois has increased its prison population by 4,000. At a time when other states are successfully and responsibly reducing their prison populations, Illinois currently houses a record-high 49,000 people in state prisons. Medium and minimum-security facilities, which primarily hold low-level, non-violent offenders, face the most severe crowding. These conditions impede rehabilitation efforts and create dangerous environments for both staff and inmates. MGT is widely recognized as a necessary corrections management tool; it is supported by research as an effective incentive for good behavior. The current situation of incarcerating more people for longer periods of time is extremely expensive to Illinois taxpayers. As Illinois is facing historic budget shortfalls, the reinstatement of MGT would help save scarce public dollars.

If you would like to add your voice to the growing numbers advocating the program's responsible reinstitution, click here for a letter you can personalize and mail to Governor Quinn.

The Vera Institute of Justice's Center on Sentencing and Corrections and Cost-Benefit Analysis Unit developed a methodology to calculate the taxpayer cost of prisons, including costs outside states’ corrections budgets. Among the 40 states that participated in a survey, the cost of prisons was $38.8 billion in fiscal year 2010, $5.4 billion more than what their corrections budgets reflected. States’ costs outside their corrections departments ranged from less than 1 percent of total prison costs in Arizona to as much as 34 percent in Connecticut. In Illinois, the average annual cost per inmate in FY2010 was $38,268, significantly higher than the $22,043 reported in the Illinois Department of Corrections' 2010 Annual Report. Vera's full report provides the taxpayer cost of incarcerating a sentenced adult offender to state prison in 40 states, presents the methodology, and concludes with recommendations about steps policy makers can take to safely rein in these costs. To view the full report and state fact sheets, click here.

Recently, the Council of State Governments Justice Center reported that the House and Senate conference committee provided $63 million for the Second Chance Act in the “minibus” appropriations report, which includes Fiscal Year 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) spending. This appropriations bill resolves differences between the House, which allotted $70 million, and the Senate, which provided no funding. The conference report consolidates appropriations bill for several agencies, and is expected to go to the full House and Senate for consideration this week. For more info, click here.