Illinois Policy Institute and ACLU discuss Rauner’s criminal-justice reform initiatives

Experts analyze policy recommendations designed to make Illinois’ criminal-justice system fairer and more cost-effective.

Illinois’ criminal-justice system costs the state $1.4 billion each year, has a recidivism rate of almost 50 percent, and keeps ex-offenders practically locked out of many kinds of employment that would allow them to support themselves and their families. The state needs a criminal-justice system that is smarter, fairer and more cost-effective. In February 2015, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner formed the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform, tasking it with developing policies to safely reduce Illinois’ prison population by 25 percent by 2025. In January, the commission released its first report, which sets forth 14 policy recommendations to advance this goal.

On Feb. 24, the Illinois Policy Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois hosted a panel with John Maki, commission member and executive director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, to discuss the commission’s recommendations and the prospects for reform in the coming year.