JHA wants to be sure all of those impacted by the changes to phone calls from loved ones in IDOC have the information they need. Read more about the transition and how to set up a new account.

Want to learn what we heard from people inside IDOC when they responded to our “Measuring the Quality of Prison Life” surveys?

2022-2023 MQPL SURVEY RESULTS

MQPL survey dashboard

Scroll down to find our most recent reports and statements

View our IDOC Deaths in Custody Data Visualization here. These charts compare IDOC’s total population to those that have died while in IDOC custody.

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Mission & Vision

Our Mission: JHA monitors prisons and advances independent oversight of carceral systems to promote humane treatment and increased transparency.

Our Vision: As long as there are prisons, we aspire to have a system that is equitable, reduces harm, and respects people’s humanity.

our guiding principles

Defying Injustice. Defending Humanity.

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Illinois has one of the most overcrowded, understaffed and underfunded prison systems in the U.S. We believe that people who are incarcerated should be treated humanely and with dignity and respect.

Impact

For more than 120 years, the John Howard Association has served as Illinois' only independent citizen correctional oversight organization. We uncover problems large and small in our correctional facilities and advocate for reforms that lead to meaningful change for prisoners and their families. System-wide reform leads to more successful correctional outcomes for our communities, and better use of limited resources and taxpayer funds.

JHA’s work leads to changes inside our prisons and throughout our system that impact thousands of lives for the better.

Featured

Advocacy

Statements

Legislative Impact

In the Media

Recent Publications

2024 Monitoring Reports: Graham, Shawnee & Vienna

Summary
- Consistent refrains from people in all three facilities were a desire for more opportunity for productive activity and the harms of lockdowns, the latter largely attributed by administrators to staffing issues. Additionally, ongoing concerns regarding healthcare provision and physical plant issues were shared at all three prisons, including concerns regarding climate and ventilation and water.
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Read “Dear Allies” summary email here

Read Graham Report Here

Read Shawnee Report Here

Read Vienna Report Here

2024 Centralia Monitoring Report

Summary
- JHA visited Centralia in 2024, interested to see how changes started in 2022 had progressed. We were particularly interested in the Prison Rehabilitation & Identity Sensitivity Mentorship Program (PRISM), a unique program in IDOC intended for those in custody who have been targeted on the basis of identity or perceived identity, including, but not exclusively, transgender individuals. Disappointingly there was a decrease from 27 to 10 participants since 2022, attributed in part to low mental health staffing at the prison throughout 2024, which reportedly had improved by early 2025.
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Read Report Here

Report on Reentry-Focused Facilities (Part 1 of 2)

Summary
- JHA visited all six reentry facilities between July 2022 and July 2023 in order to report on the resources available within IDOC’s best established and most intensive reentry-focused settings. Findings from these visits, data, and JHA’s ongoing communications and survey work indicate that reentry facilities remain relatively successful, productive, and well-received compared to IDOC prisons, and yet are vastly underutilized. Most existing reentry facilities have populations far below reported capacities, and even at full capacity, could only serve a small percentage of the IDOC population potentially meeting eligibility criteria. Further, they remain regionally limited, particularly for women.
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Read Full Report Here

Monitoring Visit to IYC St. Charles / PEACE Center: Emergency Transfer of IYC Warrenville youth

Summary
- In August 2024, JHA visited youth from IYC-Warrenville who were housed at IYC-St. Charles after a July fire at Warrenville forced IDJJ to relocate youth and staff. These 35 youth were being housed and programmed apart from other youth at St. Charles who participate in its post-high school PEACE Center program. As of October, Warrenville’s facility was not expected to reopen for at least another year and a half.
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Read Report Here

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John Howard Association in the News

News

Dec 10, 2024

Amid Concerns Over Paper, Illinois Prisons Would Be Able to Electronically Scan Mail Under New Contract

Dec 10, 2024

For months, state lawmakers, correctional workers and those incarcerated have been raising the alarm over the future of physical mail in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities.(WTTW)