Christmas wish list: 12 gifts for Illinois taxpayers in 2019

By Vincent Caruso

12/19/2018

In 2018, Springfield handed Illinoisans more of the same repackaged policy failures. Lawmakers in the coming year should tape to their desks this wish list of taxpayer-friendly reforms.

TAGS: balanced budget requirement, criminal justice reform, education, graduated income tax, income tax, pensions, prison reform, progressive income tax, property taxes, school choice, school district consolidation, sentencing reform, spending cap, U.S. Census Bureau

Momentum builds for pardon of Peoria man who served 15 years for drug offense

08/28/2018

Jason Spyres was arrested on drug charges nearly 20 years ago. In the years since, he’s been on a path of personal success and growth. A pardon from Gov. Bruce Rauner should follow.

TAGS: criminal justice reform, marijuana, sentencing reform

Making Illinois smart on crime: How to improve felony theft outcomes

By Hilary Gowins

03/02/2017

Raising the felony theft threshold won't lead to an increase in overall property crime or larceny rates.

TAGS: criminal justice reform, felony theft, sentencing reform

Addressing criminal justice through Adult Redeploy saved IL $76 million from 2011-2015

By Hilary Gowins

12/07/2016

The state initiative has both saved taxpayer money and given offenders the opportunity to break the cycle of incarceration.

TAGS: adult redeploy, criminal justice reform, drug court, sentencing 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

Rauner signs bill to discourage incarceration for low-level offenders with no prior violent convictions

By Amy Korte

08/30/2016

Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed into law Senate Bill 3164, which requires a court to review a presentencing report and explain why incarceration is appropriate prior to imposing a prison sentence on a Class 3 or Class 4 felony offender with no prior violent convictions.

TAGS: criminal justice reform, sentencing reform

92% percent of Illinoisans support criminal-justice reform, poll finds

By Bryant Jackson-Green

05/20/2016

A recent survey of Illinois voters by the U.S. Justice Action Network shows vast popular support for criminal-justice reform.

TAGS: criminal justice reform, mandatory minimums, reentry, sentencing reform

A model for Illinois: 4 criminal-justice reforms from U.S. public-safety leaders

By Bryant Jackson-Green

10/24/2015

Police chiefs and prosecutors increasingly support policies to reduce unnecessary incarceration.

TAGS: bail, criminal justice reform, decriminalization, expungement, police body cameras, record sealing, restorative justice, sentencing reform

4 important takeaways from Rauner commission’s initial report on criminal justice

By Bryant Jackson-Green

07/09/2015

The initial overview of plans to safely reduce Illinois’ prison population by 25 percent contains important lessons for policymakers.

TAGS: Bruce Rauner, 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