December 7th is National Letter Writing Day, a day to engage in and celebrate the lost art of letter writing. While conceived of as a lighthearted holiday to inspire people to put pen to paper rather than fingers to keyboard, this day has a more serious meaning for JHA and our constituents. For the more than two million people incarcerated in the United States, 39,000 of whom are in prisons run by the state of Illinois, writing and receiving letters isn’t an art; it is a lifeline.
Read MoreNovember is National Hospice & Palliative Care Month, an appropriate time to draw attention to the importance of using more humane and effective ways to treat and manage elderly and terminally ill people in Illinois prisons. JHA has long stressed the importance of Illinois finding alternatives to address this growing problem, which is both extremely concerning from a human rights lens and an inefficient use of limited resources.
Read MoreDenying people access to materials that are both within their rights to have and important to rehabilitation, self-improvement and future success is illegal, unproductive and unjust and offends our most cherished democratic principles
Read MoreEducational access within prisons must be expanded. In Illinois, we have evidence that Correctional Post-Secondary Education has a $38.75 return on investment on every dollar for the State. Given this figure, it would stand to reason that the public and lawmakers would embrace education in prisons as a cost-saving investment of State funds; unfortunately, this is not the case.
Read MoreThe John Howard Association of Illinois congratulates Rob Jeffreys on his appointment as the new Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections and thanks Director Baldwin for his work in Illinois over the past four years.
Read MoreIf passed into law, this bill will encourage people in prison serving long prison sentences to engage in programming that will better prepare them for reentry into our communities and reduce recidivism.
Read MoreTestimony in support of HB 2045 to the Senate Criminal Law Committee of the 101st Illinois General Assembly, May 7, 2019.
HB 2045 will repeal the statutory language compelling IDOC to collect a $5 co-pay from inmates who request medical services. Elimination of the co-pay will be cost effective, and result in healthier, safer prisons to the benefit of inmates, staff, and the State of Illinois as a whole.
Read MoreIf passed into law, this bill will encourage people in prison serving long prison sentences to engage in programming that will better prepare them for reentry into our communities and reduce recidivism.
Read MorePlease do not reduce IDOC’s funding because the population is down. The lower population can be attributed to a reduction in new court admissions, which is most likely the result of the dramatic drop in arrests for criminal offenses that has occurred over the past few years. IDOC has no control over how many people are sentenced to prison, and the downward trend of arrests can reverse at any time.
Read MoreIf passed into law, this bill will establish a centralized, comprehensive State-wide reporting system for the timely, accurate collection of data from all law enforcement, detention and correctional entities
Read MoreJHA testified in support of SB 1158, a bill that will no longer allow the state of Illinois to seek reimbursement for the cost of incarceration for those who are in or leaving prison.
Read More