2016 Prison Monitoring Project Summary and Recommendations

The last year was marked by tremendous progress, worrisome stagnation, and regressive divisiveness. In 2016, there was significant movement on the national and local levels around criminal justice system policy and practices impacting prison reform efforts in Illinois. Critical new federal guidance on several relevant topics was published and is referenced herein; however, most criminal justice issues and solutions are hard fought, gradual, and will be primarily local. While in some ways the increasing acknowledgment of what needs to be done is half the battle, the unending work of resourcing and executing solutions remains ahead. Monitoring translation of principled reforms through implementation is critical to ensure the reality on-the-ground rises to meet the challenge of transformative policy and best practice.