Rebuilding Lives. Strengthening Communities.

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“It’s been said that a person can live about 40 days without food, three days without water, eight minutes without air . . . but only one second without hope.” –Anonymous
Introduction The Reality of Reentry Every year, the United States sets two prison records—one we talk about and one we don’t. Most Americans are quite familiar with our penchant for putting people into prison. The number of individuals incarcerated in state and federal correctional institutions has risen exponentially in the past three decades. In 1980, there were just over 300,000 people in state and federal prisons; in 2003, there were nearly 1.4 million people. 1 The total now exceeds 2.2 million when you combine state and federal prisons with local jails and other types of confinement. 2 According to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 5.6 million adults have served time in state or federal prison. 3 If this current rate remains unchanged, nearly one in 15 persons born in 2001 will be imprisoned during his or her lifetime. 4 But most Americans have typically paid little or no attention to people coming back from prison. 5 At least 95 percent of all state prisoners will be released at some point. 6 This year, our country’s prisons will release nearly 650,000 individuals, an increase from 170,000 in 1980. 7 This number does not even include the millions who will finish up jail terms. 8 And they all go in and come out faster than most Americans realize; the average felony sentence is approximately three years. 9 The use of probation and parole has exploded to correspond with these statistics; more than 4.1 million individuals were on probation and another 765,000 were on parole at the end of 2004—almost a three percent increase in just one year. 10 Following national trends, Illinois has seen its prison population soar in the last 30 years. Between 1970 and 2003, the Illinois prison population increased by more than 500 percent, from 7,326 to 43,418 prisoners. 11 To keep up with this growth, the state built an average of one new prison every year between 1980 and 2000. 12 Yet Illinois prisons are more overcrowded today than they were in 1980; more than 44,000 prisoners are housed in facilities designed for 32,000. 13 Illinois currently has 27 correctional facilities, seven work camps, two boot camps, and eight adult transitional centers operating throughout the state and employs 14,000 staff to oversee the secure detainment of the state’s convicted prisoners. 14 Meanwhile, Illinois has seen its prison exits rise as well. Within just a few years, from 2000 to 2003, the number of people released from Illinois state prisons jumped from 28,876 to 35,372—an increase of more than 22 percent. 15 Approximately 53 percent of prisoners (15,488 individuals) released from all Illinois prisons in 2001 returned to the City of Chicago alone. 16 Based on current estimates, more than 21,000 will have settled within the city limits in 2005. 17 As the Chicago Tribune recently pointed out, that is enough “to fill the United Center, about 10 city bus loads rolling in each week.” 18 Add up all the people under correctional supervision in Illinois—those behind bars, on probation, or on parole— and the figure would surpass 244,000. 19 If they were all placed in one location, it would be the second largest city in the state. 20 MAYORAL POLICY CAUCUS ON PRISONER REENTRY 3
Page 1 and 2: Rebuilding Lives. Restoring Hope. S
Page 3: Message from the Mayor The issue of
Page 7 and 8: Communities Too many communities ar
Page 9 and 10: A National Movement, A Nonpartisan
Page 11 and 12: The Mayoral Policy Caucus on Prison
Page 13 and 14: Theresa W. Theresa W. is a 25-year-
Page 15 and 16: Ramon C. is a 51-year-old Real Life
Page 17 and 18: Chapter 1: Employment Formerly inca
Page 19 and 20: The current need for IDOC’s educa
Page 21 and 22: Ensure pre-release vocational train
Page 23 and 24: Restructure and expand Illinois Cor
Page 25 and 26: While the passage of this legislati
Page 27 and 28: IDOC is currently re-examining the
Page 29 and 30: Solution To increase employment opp
Page 31 and 32: Solution To be most effective, educ
Page 33 and 34: Issue Encourage more “demand-side
Page 35 and 36: Promote and support transitional jo
Page 37 and 38: Promote and support social enterpri
Page 39 and 40: Foster more opportunities for entre
Page 41 and 42: (e.g., expungement, sealing of reco
Page 43 and 44: Sandra S. is a 38-year-old African-
Page 45 and 46: Marvin A. Marvin A. is a 64-year-ol
Page 47 and 48: Chapter 2: Health By most measures,
Page 49 and 50: “This is the best chance to locat
Page 51 and 52: Similar to substance abuse treatmen
Page 53 and 54: Solution Connections to community-b
Page 55 and 56:
Solution Initially, the State shoul
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Medicaid does not pay for services
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To ensure the greatest return on in
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Solution Diversion programs and alt
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Create more positive social structu
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Margaret M. is a 55-year- old Latin
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Sam J. is a 41- Real Life year-old
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Chapter 3: Family Having a supporti
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Improve visitation facilities and p
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Issue Facilitate contact between pr
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Review policies regarding child sup
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Reforms with Citywide Impact Suppor
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Improve reunification services at C
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Support more mentoring and other so
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Billie H. is a 41-year-old Real Lif
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Shannon G. is a 33-year-old African
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Chapter 4: Community Safety Prisone
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Ensure that prisoners have appropri
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Expand capacity and number of Adult
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However, with the dramatic increase
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N City of Chicago 2004 Inmate Exits
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Solution The goal of “justice rei
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Solution The City, in partnership w
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Internet. This vehicle allows for i
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Solution The City should work with
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Solution Local “reentry resource
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For example, in Oregon, Deschutes C
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A Note of Thanks Many people worked
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Ms. Ellen A. Meyers, Office of Illi
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Endnotes Introduction MAYORAL POLIC
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Introduction (cont.) 46 Bush, Georg
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Chapter 1: Employment (cont.) MAYOR
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Chapter 1: Employment (cont.) MAYOR
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Chapter 2: Health (cont.) MAYORAL P
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Chapter 2: Health (cont.) MAYORAL P
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Chapter 3: Family (cont.) MAYORAL P
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Chapter 4: Community Safety (cont.)
Page 130 and 131:
Chapter 4: Community Safety (cont.)
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