Gov. Bruce Rauner’s criminal-justice reform commission urges removing overbroad occupational licensing restrictions that bar ex-offenders from pursuing work in over 118 professions.
Since Chicago officials received a city watchdog investigation recommending six officers be disciplined for their roles surrounding the killing of David Koschman by a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, three have retired.
The commission’s 14 policy suggestions aim to safely reduce Illinois’ prison population by 25 percent by 2025.
80% of Chicago dashcam audio systems are malfunctioning due "to operator error or in some cases intentional destruction."
Gov. Bruce Rauner highlights the continued need for criminal-justice reform to save taxpayer dollars and restore opportunity. To get there, Illinois must embrace reforms that enable ex-offenders to provide for themselves and their families once they’ve served their sentences.
Ninety-two percent of Americans support a body camera requirement for police officers; to enhance transparency and accountability, Chicago should require its police to use body cameras.
Nearly 70,000 Illinois children have incarcerated parents who will need to be able to support their families after serving their sentences.
In 2015, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law bills restricting the transfer of juvenile offenders to adult court, establishing rules for the use of body cameras by police, and creating an expedited process in Cook County to resolve cases involving certain low-level offenses.
Criminal-justice reform can only be successful if policymakers work to remove barriers to employment and work.
Tens of thousands of Chicago police misconduct files could be purged due to lawsuits filed by police unions.
Illinois jails book over 2.6 times the number of people they did in 1981, costing taxpayers money and keeping many people who have not yet been convicted of crimes behind bars.
Twenty states and the District of Columbia have removed the threat of jail time for simple marijuana possession.
Madigan’s letter to the Justice Department came on the same day Chicago’s police superintendent, Garry McCarthy, resigned at the request of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
U.S. law enforcement took in more than $5 billion from the American public in 2014 through asset forfeiture, compared to the $3.5 billion lost nationally to burglary.