Unintended consequences: Amendment 1 could allow prisoners to unionize

By Amy Korte

06/09/2022

There’s been a 50-year national push to unionize inmate workers in prisons – including a 2020 article published by Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. The rights granted in Amendment 1 to all “employees” could result in Illinois prison unions.

TAGS: Amendment 1, Illinois, prison, unions

4 of Illinois’ past 10 governors went to prison

By Hannah Schmid

04/11/2022

Four of the past 10 former Illinois governors are among the public officials who have been convicted of offenses in Illinois. The state needs stricter ethics reforms to change its culture of corruption.

TAGS: corruption, governors, Illinois, prison

Blagojevich comes home to America’s most corrupt city

02/26/2020

Chicago and the state of Illinois are notorious around the country for high-profile corruption convictions. Rod Blagojevich settles back in after the former governor’s imprisonment for corruption.

TAGS: Chicago, conflict of interest, conviction, Cook County, cooling off period, corruption, ethics, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jeff Tobolski, lobbying, Martin Sandoval, Patrick Doherty, prison, red light cameras, revolving door, Rod Blagojevich, SafeSpeed, watchdog

More than 200 Cook County corrections officers call in sick for Mother’s Day

By Brendan Bakala

05/15/2017

The 206 corrections officers who called off are a significant improvement from Mother’s Day 2016, in which more than 460 corrections officers called off.

TAGS: Cook County Jail, labor, prison, unions

Work over prison: Illinois should expand record sealing

By Hilary Gowins

04/21/2017

Research shows that recidivism rates drop for ex-offenders who are able to find steady employment.

TAGS: criminal justice reform, expungement, prison, prison population, record sealing

General Assembly passes SB 19, which would hinder care for IDOC inmates and saddle taxpayers with unnecessary costs

By Mailee Smith

04/06/2017

Senate Bill 19 could prevent the state from providing the best, most cost-effective medical services for inmates in the Illinois Department of Corrections, and it forces the state to pay for employees that may not be necessary.

TAGS: health care, IDOC: Illinois Department of Corrections, INA: Illinois Nurses Association, labor, prison, prison population

Rauner calls for closed-circuit cameras to replace watchtower guards in effort to cut overtime costs

By Brendan Bakala

03/22/2017

A spokeswoman for the governor said the measure would cut overtime costs and help reduce the state’s corrections budget.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Bruce Rauner, budget, prison, prison reform

Bill to give ex-offenders access to state-issued IDs goes to Rauner’s desk

By Hilary Gowins

12/07/2016

Senate Bill 3368 will ensure former inmates leaving Illinois’ prisons have state-issued identification, which will assist their re-entry into their communities and make it easier for them to apply for jobs or housing.

TAGS: prison, reentry

Rauner, lawmakers push for IDs for ex-offenders

By Bryant Jackson-Green

09/30/2016

Gov. Bruce Rauner and a bipartisan group of lawmakers are supporting SB 3368, which would issue IDs to ex-offenders immediately upon release from prison, easing their transition to post-prison life and employment.

TAGS: criminal justice reform, prison, prison reform

Which Illinois county is most likely to lock you up?

By Bryant Jackson-Green

09/23/2016

Research shows Hardin, Macon and Marion Counties lead the state in prison admissions per 10,000 residents.

TAGS: overcriminalization, prison, prison population, sentencing reform

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

Illinois finds itself at a crossroads: will it empower minorities and poor people to unleash their potential, or will it perpetuate an inequitable status quo? For far too many Illinoisans, opportunity is unfairly and unnecessarily out of reach. Illinois ranks in the bottom ten among all states in social mobility and last among Midwest states...

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Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

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Brandi Lentz

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students