Rauner Signs Bill He Hopes Will Cut Prison Population by 25 Percent

A press release from Governor Bruce Rauner:

Governor Rauner Signs Legislation to Improve Illinois’ Criminal Justice System

Legislation includes parts of recommendations by the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform

CHICAGO – Governor Bruce Rauner today, joined by Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria), ICJIA Director John Maki, and other elected officials in Chicago, signed Senate Bill 2872, legislation to ensure we can safely reduce our overuse of prison and help make our communities safer.

SB 2872 is the most comprehensive criminal justice reform Illinois has enacted to date.

Bruce Rauner

“By signing the bill, we’re doing what’s right for the people of Illinois,” said Governor Rauner. “For years our criminal justice system has been broken.

“This bill embodies the right way to safely reduce the overuse of our prison system while making our communities safer.

“Together, we can reduce our prison population by 25 percent by 2025.”

SB 2872 charges the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), the state’s public safety research agency, to provide strategic planning and technical assistance to help communities effectively address trauma victims’ experiences, particularly in communities with high levels of crime.

It strengthens the discretion judges can use to ensure that offenders receive the appropriate punishment, including probation as an alternative to being sent to the Illinois Department of Corrections. It also expands opportunities for inmates to participate in rehabilitative programming, which is the most effective way for IDOC to reduce recidivism.

“For too long the only response to crime in our communities has been locking people up. Today our prisons are overflowing but many people are returning back to their communities worse off than when they went in. Incarceration as the singular response to crime and victimization isn’t working to make us safer,”  Rep. Gordon-Booth said. “Meeting the needs of crime victims means fixing our broken criminal justice system. That is why we must change our focus from incarceration to real safety: trauma recovery services for victims, crime prevention and rehabilitation. We have a long road ahead of us, but I am hopeful when I see this historic coalition of Democrats and Republicans who have come together to pass this bill.”

“There’s been a lot of focus on violence in Chicago and what we do know is that a lot of people young and old suffer trauma from this ongoing violence,” Sen. Raoul said. “Untreated trauma can lead to more violence. Having trauma recovery centers in communities is an important element to dealing with the overall violence problem.”

“This bill is the most comprehensive and important criminal justice reform Illinois has enacted to date,” ICJIA Director John Maki said. “It is a model for how states should address crime and the overuse of incarceration. It creates opportunities for inmates to earn credit by participating in rehabilitative programs, strengthens judicial discretion, and focuses existing resources on helping victims and communities most impacted by crime heal.”

The legislation included parts of recommendations made by the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform in its efforts to reduce the state’s current prison population by 25 percent by 2025.

Additional information on the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform can be found here.

Video of the event will be posted here.


Comments

Rauner Signs Bill He Hopes Will Cut Prison Population by 25 Percent — 10 Comments

  1. Will he give them section 8 housing vouchers for McH Co., too?

  2. Rickey: Super vouchers for Bull Valley and Trout Valley 🙂

  3. It is very easy to cut the prison population.

    Bring back the death penalty and use it on the day of sentencing.

  4. Squishy-soft on crime. Pro-Abortion. Pro-Illegal Immigration. Welcome Billionaire RINO Bruce Rauner, everybody!

  5. Just watched 60 minutes, must always remember many of those in prison are not guilty.

    Some are forced or cohersed or tricked into confession.

    Releasing people in jail who do not belong in jail would be the first way to reduce the prison population.

    As always, I stand in defense of the non-violent drug ‘offenders’, and those too poor to afford bail.

    We need more jobs, not more prisoners.

    Legalize hemp and treat cannabis like alcohol is the answer.

  6. Excuse me, I should have said RE-LEGALIZE HEMP and CANNABIS.

    Looking forward to the day when 60 Minutes does a show on the Hemp Conspiracy.

    Never ‘illegal’ until 1937 when fossil fuel derived synthetic fiber was invented.

  7. Gary!

    Stop supporting the people that are enslaving us.

    Turn off that teevee!

  8. Good Morning Cindy and all.

    I know what you mean about 60 minutes being biased, but Truth is Truth.

    To see the courage this man had under torture was moving.

    To hear him say that “anyone with a shred of intellect knows that torture does not work” meant more to me than all of what Don Trump says about torture.

    Of course he admitted to what the government wanted him to say.

    Anyone would, that is why torture does not work.

    Viewing this interview is possible on the CBS website.

    It’s OK Cindy, you won’t be turned in to a mindless slave watching a couple of articles, I don’t think.

    Open minds create open hearts. Let us celebrate the freedoms we have and help each other.

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