Save the evening of October 30th for our Annual Event!
We’re excited to announce we’ll host Arne Duncan, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Chicago CRED and Former U.S. Secretary of Education as our keynote speaker.

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

Voting Rights

If you were incarcerated, have a criminal record, or are in pre-trial detention, you still have the right to vote!

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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

JHA Measuring Quality of Prison Life Survey Data Dashboard created in partnership with the Loyola Center on Criminal Justice

Summary
- In 2022-2023, JHA conducted our second system-wide survey in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) using an adapted Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) survey. The MQPL is a detailed survey that gathers prison residents’ views on the quality of life in the facilities where they are held. Today we are excited to share our MQPL Survey Dashboard built by our partners at the Loyola Chicago Center for Criminal Justice. (August 8, 2024)
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Read Full Statement Here

IYC-Harrisburg Monitoring Report 2024

Summary
- JHA visited IYC Harrisburg in April of 2024. At that time, the tone of the facility was largely unchanged from previous visits, with staff continuing to report high levels of fighting between youth and youth continuing to report mistreatment by staff. However, there did appear to be a larger degree of trust between youth and facility administrators than JHA had seen on previous visits.
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Read Report Here

2023 Pontiac Monitoring Report

Summary
- On November 15, 2023, JHA conducted a monitoring visit to maximum-security prison Pontiac, which housed about 600 people. Troublingly, at that time, more than half of the population at Pontiac had a security classification lower than maximum-security and yet all but MSU-classified people (only 16% of the population) were subject to restrictive practices usually associated with maximum security status, including minimal out-of-cell time and non-contact visitation.
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Read Full Report Here

2024 IYC Pere Marquette Monitoring Report

Summary
- In May of 2024 JHA visited IYC-Pere Marquette, the only IDJJ facility classified as minimum security. There were 13 youth housed at there on the visit date. Although programming was still limited (in part due to staffing), youth who spoke with JHA expressed fewer concerns about idleness than on our previous visit, and it appeared that informal activity offerings were more robust. Despite the increase in activity and programming compared to recent previous visits, it was noted that the facility was still light on available opportunities for high school graduates.
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Read Full Report Here

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John Howard Association in the News

News

Sep 4, 2024

Stateville closure discussion on WTTW's Black Voices

Sep 4, 2024

The impact of Stateville’s closure on workers and those incarcerated. Brandeis Friedman leads a discussion with guests including JHA's Jennifer Vollen-Katz; starts at 4:34pm (WTTW)