In other previous criminal justice classes I’ve taken have led me to articles like this one. Something that I thought was pretty interesting was that the state Illinois is trying to incarcerating fewer people in the first place. Gov. Bruce Rauner has set an ambitious goal of cutting the prison rolls 25 percent by 2025. Illinois’ incarcerated population jumped from fewer than 10,000 inmates three decades ago to more than 48,000 in 2015—the nation’s eighth largest state inmate total. Providing cells, food, medical care and other services costs taxpayers $1.3 billion annually. Under Rauner’s policies, the state has already cut that number by almost 7,000. Something that I did not know until I read this article was that one of the first Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils (CJCC) was started in central Illinois’ McLean County in 2011 to address chronic overcrowding at the county jail. At the time, McLean ranked highest among the state’s 20 largest counties in its rate of sending drug defendants to state prison, with a total of 92.1 per 100,000 residents. Data compiled by the McLean County justice council has since documented major changes in the jail population that reflect changes in both the number of inmates and the composition of the jail’s population. Also, in McLean County using the county jail mostly for holding defendants charged with the most severe offenses is a likely contributor to the lower numbers sent to state prison, which I thought was a good idea. This statement here “The ability to remain out of jail while a case is pending allows people to keep their jobs, take care of their families and, in some cases, begin efforts to address mental health and substance issues that may have contributed to their offenses. Defendants also have greater opportunity to meet with their lawyers and assist with their defense when they are not sitting in jail”. Made me feel like people actually care about the “soon” to be inmates. Even though they did commit a crime and could go to jail or prison, they are still people and should be treated like one. -PB001
I agree with the government allowing criminals to stay out of jail during sentencing to help provide for their families and speak with their lawyers, but I only think they should allow the criminals that have been arrested for not violent crimes. I say this because if a murderer was arrested and then released during sentencing to help out and talk with his lawyer, what is stopping them from committing even more crimes during this time knowing they are already going to prison. For me it would be hard to believe if the state of Illinois has not thought of this, I doubt high risk criminals would be given this opportunity, but it is something to think and be worried about. -LW001
This article is a great example of how the Illinois government is trying to meet the needs of its citizens by lowering sentences of prison inmates, which will in turn lower the amount of taxes paid to the government. Not all of what they are trying to do seems like a good idea in my eyes. I am a strong believer in “actions have their consequences” I believe that when a person commits a crime, they should have to serve the full amount of time permitted at the necessary location whether that is prison or a county jail. That does not mean I do not agree with some of the points the government is trying to get across. I agree with the ideas of keeping low crime offenders out of the prison system and keeping them in the county jails throughout their entire sentence. I think with doing this Illinois citizens can save a little money on taxes by keeping unnecessary criminals out of prison. I also agree with the article’s statement of helping the inmates become successful and help to change their life choices with the money saved from prisons. With this the criminals with the non-violent crimes can stay out of prison, while getting the help they need to become successful citizens. With this happening, Illinois citizens will be saving some tax dollars because of the smaller population of criminals in state prisons. What I do not agree with is lowering the sentences of violent criminals to save even more tax dollars by having less people in prisons. In my eyes I would rather spend more tax dollars by keeping these violent criminals in prison rather than having them wandering the streets possibly committing more dangerous crimes. All in all, I agree with keeping the criminals from non-violent crimes in county jails with lesser terms, but I do not agree with shorting the terms of violent criminals to save tax money. -LW001
I also think that this is great, we have found a way to stop spending money when it is seen as unnecessary. People should absolutely have to face consequences for the bad things that they have done. I believe that all bad things are not the same rate of badness. People that are facing non violent crimes should not be taken away from their families just so taxpayers can pay for their stay. While instead of being locked up waiting for a court date, these people can be maintaining their lives and working jobs. We just need to be smart about who we decide to save money on, ultimately. -KF001
I think it is great that Illinois is trying to decrease their prison population with both reducing the time inmates stay behind bars or incarcerating fewer people in the first place. The article states the Illinois’ incarcerated population jumped from fewer than 10,00 inmates three decades ago to more than 48,000 in 2015. This is the nation’s eighth largest state inmate total. Under Governor Bruce Rauner’s policies, the state has already cut that number by almost 7,000. Mike Emery, law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s office, started the practice of letting judges and other decision makers know when his jail was near capacity, putting more emphasis on the possible release of low-level offenders at bond hearings. Data from the McLean county justice council has seen major changes in the jail population that reflect changes in both the number of inmates and the composition of the jail’s population. By 2015, the total bed days for low-level felonies and misdemeanors were down an average of 30% when compared to 2007. McLean County’s crime rate was also decreasing. The article states that, the shift in McLean County to using the county jail mostly for holding defendants charged with the most severe offenses is a likely contributor to the lower numbers sent to state prison. Illinois Adult Redeploy, which is a state program that grants funds to community-based county-levels services, also played a part in reducing the number of defendants this county sends to stat prisons each year. In all, state prison admissions from the country dropped from 385 in 2011 to 293 in 2016. Illinois officials hope that four other counties that have created local criminal justice counties with the help of the state will have results similar to McLean County’s results.-JU002
As of 2015 Illinois had around 48,000 inmates, which ranked them eighth for the largest prison population by state. Governor Bruce Rauner set a goal to decrease the prison population by 25% by 2025. This goal is going in the right footsteps, because as of 2019 there is 7,000 less prisoners than in 2015. It’s nice to hear that Illinois is actually doing something good for a change. Most of the time you just hear about how awful of a state Illinois is, and how we need to change this and that. 2011 is when Illinois realized that they need to get on top of the overcrowded prison population, and formed the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in McLean County. McLean County was the worst of the twenty largest counties in Illinois for incarcerated people. Mike Emery who is now the law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s office would let judges know when their jail was getting to max limit. This was done while he was the County Sheriff. This then would allow the judge to decide on whether or not certain low level inmates could be released from jail. I think this was a great job on Sheriff Mike Emery’s part, because many inmates were being held in jails for very low level nonviolent crimes. This allowed the jail to hold inmates who actually committed a more serious crime rather than those who were being held for a misdemeanor. Even though Illinois has a high prison population still, the decrease is something to be happy about. I think that by 2025 cutting the prison population by even more than 25% is very well possible. -CRJB002
The article states that there are over 2 million people incarcerated world wide, thats a lot of people in prison. Now, I think it is great that Illinois has reduced the amount of people incarcerated because it the "nations eighth largest state inmate population." In McClean county they have the highest rate of sending drug offenders to a state prison out of all the 20 counties in Illinois. In my opinion I do think that some drug offenders dont need as much time as they get. I do think that with a substantial amount of lets say marijuana they should have a little less time then they normally get because as it is getting legalized there isn't much need to keep them that long in the places it is illegal anyways. Also with that being said it also states that " taxpayers pay $1.3 billion annually" for the cost of food and other services for all those inmates. The fact that Illinois was able to reduce the inmate population and lessen the cost for taxpayers is great. Bruce Raunner has a goal that states that he wants to cut the "prison rolls 25%" by the year of 2025, at the rate we are going I think we can get there. With things like the pre-trial release program it is definitely helping the number of people incarcerated lower. As David Olson states "“We know from research that if people are not detained pre-trial, their chances of going to prison are less” it shows how it is effecting the number of inmates in prison. I do think that people should be punished for any crime they commit however it doesnt help much when prisons are over crowded so I think with what we are doing now it is helping. -wags002
I think is great that Illinois is now working to release people sooner and looking at incarcerating less people. This really should be something that all states should consider looking into fewer incarcerations and lowering prison sentences to help boost criminal justice reform. Former governor Bruce Rauner had set a goal of cutting down the amount of people in prison by 25%, by the year 2025. Before this goal, Illinois had had over 48,000 inmates incarcerated, the eighth largest state inmate total. Happily, under Rauner’s policy, Illinois has cut down this number by nearly 7,000. The Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils was established in McLean County in 2011 to address the issue of overcrowding at the county jail. The goal of this new council was to coordinate efforts with elected policy makers, members of the community, attorneys and law enforcement officials, to address the overcrowding issues in McLean county. Former County Sheriff Mike Emery is quoted saying, “The CJCC erased the boundaries between the departments as we all worked together for the overall criminal justice system.” Emery has also started the process of letting judges know when the jail is getting to capacity. Participation in pretrial release by defendants also give judges more options, rather than jumping straight into incarceration. This new organization is a great step forward in reducing jail population and preventing overcrowding. I think criminal justice systems around the US should look into what Illinois is working on for reform. It’s a great step in continuing Rauner’s bold policy on jail population reduction. -OUTATIME002
I completely agree that earlier release and overall less incarceration is the answer to making incarceration rates plummet. Bruce Rauner really got the ball rolling, and set Illinois up for success and I hope that his plan continues to be carried out. Being an Illinois native it is refreshing to see a reform working and positive changes all around. Judges having options other than incarceration, and using them, is probably going to be one of the most integral parts of carrying out Rauner's goal by 2025. -psych001
Knowing that people are seeing issues and doing what they can to fix those problems is always good news. In this case, there is an issue among prisons and jails with very high populations. McLean county specifically has made some improvements with their criminal justice system. McLean county has started arresting fewer people, giving more probation sentences, and greatly reduced the number of people sent to state prisons. Through these efforts, the county has been able to save money on housing inmates, keep citizens in the community, and they have actually made money from a state program for reducing the amount of inmates sent to state prisons. The article had mentioned that some of the people serving time cannot afford a bail of only one hundred dollars or that some were sitting in jail for violating an ordinance and other petty crimes. Arresting these people and holding them there is wasting money that could be used on rehabilitation or to build and maintain the community. I think McLean county is doing the right thing and that other counties all over the nation follow in its lead. -arm002
I completely agree with your statement. I also think McLean county is doing what's best for the outcome. They are thinking of ways to better benefit “those people”. I believe that the criminal justice system needs a lot of improvements and the more the smaller towns do that it will help. You’re so right about arresting people and holding them is a waste of money that could be used on rehabilitation or to build and maintain the community. Why aren’t we helping these people, yes they did a crime, but something is obviously wrong with them. Why can’t we help them out? -PB001
Hey arm002, I completely agree with your statement regarding bail. I had something similar in my response. I believe that just because someone has been accused of a crime they should not have to be locked up while awaiting their trial. What is the point of even being behind bars if they have yet to be sentenced? I like that Mclain county has been arresting fewer people/using their discretion properly and going more toward probation. People change and a lot of the time if given proper rehabilitation can lower chances of recidivism (especially if targeted when they are children). -TanLionNala001
The state of Illinois is in the process of cutting the prison population, by cutting their time in there. It seems that with Bruce Runer in office he is making steps to help less incarceration. There are more inmates now in 2019 then there was three decades ago. I think that McLean County is doing their best at not sending people back to prison but instead helping them with giving them probation. One reason that the prison population is high is due to bail. According to this article, there are people spending months in jail based on $100 that they can't pay. I feel that petty crimes that aren't that serious that leads to lesser bonds should be in some way reduced. I also like how McLean County is holding more serious criminals which is helping reduce prison populations. There are some programs that are placed for inmates to not want to go back to prison, which is a awesome idea only if the person wants it. The state is really working towards fixing the problem when it comes to over populated prisons. The article mentioned several things that Illinois is accomplishing to stop this issue. One thing is involving the community so the inmates would have something to do. Another this is the money left over and saved is going to services for the inmates. At the end of this instead of making the problem worse for people to be in prison, they are trying to make it better for those who have a criminal past so they could do better in life. -zw002
I agree with what you said about the McClean County trying to do their best for the state because they are the ones that have seen the results with the different policies they are following to better prison population. I also liked that you stated one of the reasonings behind the prison population is bail which I agree with because some people are stuck spending months in a cell over a small amount that they can’t pay due to financial problems which isn’t fair if they are in their for a less serious crime. I liked that you included a couple different reasons how the state is trying to fix the population issue in prisons. -HL001
This article shows the effort the government is trying to make to lower the population in prison but it’s also taking money from him because the less people in prison then the less taxes he will earn. So if the population went from 658 to 329 then the government gets less money in taxes because each person in prison is worth so much money but if it’s less people in prison than less taxes being paid. So Illinois will be lowe tax because of the low population in prison which is a great idea but I don’t agree with lowering violent criminals sentences. Every criminal deserves consequences for their actions. So “being soft on crime” so that the taxes can stay low is really a bad idea more than a good idea because people will then start taking advantage of that and the world will be much more of a crazy place. Before anything that should motivate police departments to get tough on crime so that there will be no unnecessary “criminals” in prison and start doing better with solving cases such as robbery, murde, etc. That will also make the probation population higher to because those that have less time in jail get to finish the rest of their time on probation rather than jail and that's another way to lower the prison population. Everything depends on how serious is the crime because some people do deserve to sit in jail and serve their whole time without parole and some people just need a little scared and tap on the hand.-KenzieLand001
The state of Illinois is taking steps in the right direction to decrease our overall incarceration rates. Governor Bruce Rauner set a very intense goal for the state to be completed by 2025, and we have already made progress that makes it seem like that end goal could be attainable. As of 2015 the number of incarcerated people in Illinois was almost 50,000 and under Rauner's plan that number dropped by 7,000 people by 2018. Mclean County ranked first in the number of drug offenders they were sending to state prison. A pre trial release program was implemented that would let inmates keep track of their conduct to be able to be used later on in their case. I think that was a great idea because with those in place it provided more options other than incarceration, especially for people who had committed low level crimes. Before the reform was put in place there were people sitting in jail for the smallest of infractions because they couldn't pay the $100 to get out. Now, in those cases they just have to agree to go to a future court date. Though it may seem insignificant,those people that just couldn't pay really added up, and once less and less of those offenders were being incarcerated there was a noticeable decrease in the jail population. By holding more serious offenders, rather than pre-trial detainees, Mclean county is helping keep prison populations lower. In general, Illinois is doing great at fixing the problem at hand, and if we stay on track with the plan that Rauner started I truly believe that his goal will be met by the year 2025.-psych001
I agree with what you are saying about people being in jail because of bail. There are people out there who commit crimes so they can feed their families or even just provide for themselves . Which is why they can’t afford to pay that one hundred dollar bail. This is a good thing that Bruce Runer is doing because it helps a lot of people continue to live their lives while dealing with a court case. Like you said if it’s a petty crime they should get a smaller bond. Maybe if it was fifty dollars instead or if they could do a payment plan it could help them out more. By helping prisoners have jobs when they are released from prison or jail could help them stop committing crimes. Once an inmate is released he or she is going to have a tough time finding a job and a place to live. Batman002
I think its nice to hear about Illinois doing something right and getting credit for a change. I think the Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform (CJCC) is a great idea and it deserves the national recognition it has received. Its good that the criminal justice system in Illinois is spending less time and energy locking up low level offenders and allowing that space to be taken by violent offenders. Allowing these nonviolent offenders to be out without bail allows for more opportunities to mount their defense and provide for their families which provides for the community as a whole. The state-run Illinois Adult Redeploy program is also amazing for these communities by providing local funding to those who incarcerate less offenders. This incentivizes local courts reallocate that money into community outreach. Lastly and perhaps one of the best efforts provided in the article is the sentencing reform law. This reform law allows defendants who violate probation to be jailed locally instead of in state prison and allows minor offenders to spend time serving probation in their local counties rather than the nine months they'd spend in state prison. Overall this helps lessen the tax we feel supporting overcrowding in state prisons and again allows these nonviolent offenders to return to their communities to support their families. Maybe even in the long run helping to break patterns of broken homes and ending the circle of poverty experienced when one or both parents are incarcerated on petty offenses. This was a very inciteful read. -CamSlifton002
In this article, they are talking about how we should reduce the prison population and start incarcerating fewer people in the first place. Illinois is the first state that is trying to do both by following policy set by Governor Bruce Rauner where prison rolls will be cut by 25 percent by 2025 and the number has already gone down 7,000. In McLean County, Illinois data has been compiled and shows major changes in the jail populations which reflects the changes on how the jail is run and number of inmates. In the article, I liked the section where David Olson talks about how if people are locked up pre-trial they are more likely to go to jail but if they aren’t their chances are less likely. Not being locked up before trial is very beneficial for people because that means they can keep their jobs, take care of their families, or even confront mental health issues. Another section I think is beneficial to prison reduction is the Illinois Adult Redeploy, which is a state program that helps people redirect from prison with funds towards community-based services so people can stay in the community instead of being locked up. I like how McLean county has had their council for about 7 years and it is still secure which makes Illinois one step closer to reducing the prison population. In ways it makes sense that if they do lock people up its better to hold them in local jails instead of state prison. The law says that if inmates participate in rehabilitation programs they can shorten their time in the prison which another step closer and helps the inmates overall if they want to reduce that time. It is nice to see how Illinois can provide a good example on how other states can also follow plans and policies to encourage people to cut the prison population in half for future benefit.-HL001
Illinois has taken an interesting approach to prison reform. When prison reform is typically discussed, the emphasis is usually on sentence reduction. Under the direction of Governor Bruce Rauner, the emphasis has been placed instead on reducing the number of individuals incarcerated initially. The high incarceration rate has had a tremendous effect on the state budget in Illinois. In 2015, the cost of the maintaining state prisons was an estimated 1.3 billion dollars annually. Governor Rauner’s goal was to reduce this number by 25%. Part of this initiative introduced the Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils in Mclean County. This unites and promotes collaboration between the local criminal justice system, local jails, state prisons, and the judiciary system. In this system, the judges would have knowledge of when the jail is at near capacity. Judges and prosecutors could use this knowledge as a basis when sentencing low level offenders. It would be at the judge’s discretion, but the judge would have the knowledge of the capacity of the jail. There are arguments that people should be sentenced by the crime alone and not based on “space at the jail”. However, studies show that low level offenders, such as those incarcerated for ordinance violations, have a lesser chance of re-offending if they are not jailed before trial. They are able to help with their defense and show a pattern of good behavior. Records of conduct and data supports that this gives the offenders more options at reform. There are also programs such as the Illinois Adult Redeployment to help direct people towards community based programs to offer alternative reforms for people in an effort to reduce the number of people incarcerated. These joint ventures are all necessary in lowering the number of people incarcerated in Illinois. –Zen002
It was interesting to read why people are being locked up. I agree, people who cannot afford 100 dollars should not be behind bars where they are not able to better prepare themselves or their families for their upcoming cases. Maybe if it was fifty dollars instead or if they could do a payment plan it could help them out more. By helping prisoners have jobs when they are released from prison or jail could help them stop committing crimes. Once an inmate is released, he or she is going to have a tough time finding a job and a place to live. Also, those with ordinance violation only now required to appear in courts for their trial than waiting in jail. I believe it was a good idea because those people will able to keep their work, support, and be with their families. Other than that, I did find that the Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform is working. SH002
Illinois is really moving forward when it comes to decreasing the number of people behind bars. In 2015 we as a state became eight in the nation for highest number of inmates. But since Governor Bruce Rauner took over office, the number of inmates incarcerated has dropped by almost 7,000 from our whopping 48,000. A Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform appointed by Rauner forces criminal justice professionals to focus on collaborative policies that could possibly help the incarceration rates. The sheriff of McLean County, Mike Emery, had to make some changes back in 2011 that are still helping us with the decrease in populations today. Before these reform measures were in place, people who had city ordinance violations, the lowest form of criminal conduct, were sitting in jail. With the pre-trial release program, defendants are only required to agree to appear to their future court date to avoid spending time in jail. “We know from research that if people are not detained pre-trial, their chances of going to prison are less,” said David Olson, co-director of the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy and Practice at Loyola University. That is said to be true for a number of reasons but mostly because keeping people out of jail means they keep their jobs and they can still provide for their families in some cases. Illinois Adult Redeploy is a state program that redirects money to communities so that they can invest in local efforts to help keep people out of prison such as probation programs. --coffeeplease002
I agree that it would be very important to continue to allow judges to have the knowledge of when a prison or jail is reaching capacity to adjust accordingly. Also I do like the study that shows how the recidivism rates are lower in criminals who do not wait in jail for their trial date. Not many of the low end crime committing individuals are able to afford to bail out and wait for their court date and having an individual stay in jail not only costs more, but it usually results in a higher chance of repeating in criminal behavior after they get out of jail. -Blues001
After reading this article, I found that there are more than two million people incarcerated in prisons and jails nationwide. The focus of the justice system is to reduce the time that inmates stay behind the bar and detain fewer people. I am glad that the State of Illinois wants to do both. In January 2018, Gov. Rauner set a goal to cut prison rolls by twenty-five percent by 2025, which I believe is a great idea. It is because three decades ago, there are fewer than 10,000 inmates behind bars, and as of 2015, there are more than 48,000 inmates. It cost taxpayers 1.3 billion dollars annually to provide food, cells, medical care, and other services to keep inmates behind bars. Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils started in McLean County in 2011 were at the time ranked highest among the state’s counties that sending drug defendants to state prison. In my opinion, not all drug offenders should go to state prison. Example of this is cannabis, and they should pay fine if they got caught with ten grams or less. This way, it will save taxpayers money to keep them behind bars. David Olson states that “We know from research that if people are not detained pre-trial, their chances of going to prison are less." I do agree with it because it allows them to keep working, take care, and be with their families while waiting for the case trial. Also, meeting with their lawyers for their defense. I do like the Illinois Adult Redeploy program that diverts people from prison by keeping them in the community. It saves the state money that can be investing in communities. Such programs have proven that in 2011, 385 state prison admissions dropped to 293 in 2016. If these kinds of program do help to decrease the states prison population, I hope that it continued by recent Governor and upcoming. -Cancun001
I found this article really interesting especially because it talks about the state I live in. "Illinois’ incarcerated population jumped from fewer than 10,000 inmates three decades ago to more than 48,000 in 2015—the nation’s eighth largest state inmate total." Which isn't really surprising to me because I know that most of this happens in Chicago. With the enormous amount of drugs that go on and all the shootings that occur in the city. But surprisingly Gov. Bruce Rauner has set an ambitious goal of cutting the prison rolls 25 percent by 2025. Most of the offenders that are in jail or in prison are there because of a drug charge. Mostly weed and Distribution of a substance most of the crime in Illinois come from Chicago where young people are selling drugs to make money because their parents needs Money. Most parents don’t know there child is out on the street shooting guns and selling drugs to make money. Majority of the inmates in jail are under the age of 25 because they made poor decisions and some deserve to be in jail. I’m the article it states that “Before the reform measures, inmates who were unable to pay as little as 100 dollars to be released on bail sat for months while their cases moved slowly through the court system.” Which is because they caught and locked up low end offenders. Just because your locked up doesn’t mean that you have the funds to pay for bail. One of the things that I liked that they change was the defendants who were charged with an ordinance violation or similar non violent offenses require only there agreement to appear for court dates to avoid jail time. Most offenders don’t want to get in any more trouble than they already are. A few might try to hide away from this but majority come back in hopes of beating the case. Or try to get there sentence lowered to probation, house arrest, and or community service. By doing this it also helps people who have families and to be able to still have a job and provide for that family. The defendant has time to find a lawyer and time to prep for the case. Batman001
I do agree with you, not all that are locked up don’t have money for bail. Also, those with ordinance violation only now required to appear in courts for their trial than waiting in jail. I believe it was a good idea because those people will able to keep their work, support, and be with their families. Other than that, I did find that the Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform is working. It is proven in McLean County state prison, that in 2011, 42 percent went to prison and 57 percent were put on probation. By 2016, 29 percent of convicted felons were sent to prison, and 70 percent went on probation. -Cancun001
In the article it states that “Before the reform measures, inmates who were unable to pay as little as 100 dollars to be released on bail sat for months while their cases moved slowly through the court system.” Which is because they caught and locked up low end offenders. Just because your locked up doesn’t mean that you have the funds to pay for bail. One of the things that I liked that they change was the defendants who were charged with an ordinance violation or similar non violent offenses require only there agreement to appear for court dates to avoid jail time. Most offenders don’t want to get in any more trouble than they already are. A few might try to hide away from this but majority come back in hopes of beating the case. Or try to get there sentence lowered to probation, house arrest, and or community service. By doing this it also helps people who have families and to be able to still have a job and provide for that family. The defendant has time to find a lawyer and time to prep for the case. I found this article really interesting especially because it talks about the state I live in. "Illinois’ incarcerated population jumped from fewer than 10,000 inmates three decades ago to more than 48,000 in 2015—the nation’s eighth largest state inmate total." Which isn't really surprising to me because I know that most of this happens in Chicago. With the enormous amount of drugs that go on and all the shootings that occur in the city. But surprisingly Gov. Bruce Rauner has set an ambitious goal of cutting the prison rolls 25 percent by 2025. Most of the offenders that are in jail or in prison are there because of a drug charge. Mostly weed and Distribution of a substance most of the crime in Illinois come from Chicago where young people are selling drugs to make money because their parents needs Money. Most parents don’t know there child is out on the street shooting guns and selling drugs to make money. Majority of the inmates in jail are under the age of 25 because they made poor decisions and some deserve to be in jail. Batman002
This article was interesting ESPECIALLY because it focuses on Illinois.The first fact that really got me was that Illinois has the eighth largest state inmate total. Illinois’ prison population jumped from fewer than 10,000 inmates three decades ago to more than 48,000 in 2015. Under our current governor has already cut the incarceration number by 7,000. For the most part, the entire article had several good facts but this is the one I want to focus on the most. Prison populations in Illinois were high because of the lack of rehabilitation. Jails now tend to fill from wall to wall for capitalist reasons rather than for the right reasons. Most of the people behind bars are just there because they are awaiting trial and could not afford the 100 dollars or could not have someone else bail them out. I believe that a person should not have to sit behind bars because of a crime they have been accused of/ have committed because they have not OFFICIALLY been sentenced to many years. Taxpayers are baying 1.3 billion dollars annually on prisons and jails. This money could be saved for counseling or rehabilitation rather than ALL on jails but because it has turned in to “warehousing” our money is all poured there. If efforts remain high in Illinois with Bruce Rauner’s goal (s) we can hopefully reduce the prison population 25% like he wants by 2025. -TanLionNala001
It was interesting to read why people are being locked up. I agree, people who cannot afford 100 dollars should not be behind bars where they are not able to better prepare themselves or their families for their upcoming cases. By leaving them in jail they are only increasing their chances in staying there or heading to prison. 1.3 billion dollars to house inmates is a very large sum of money that can be better used for rehabilitation program as you had said. Through programs that address the problems that many of these low-level non-violent offenders commit will save tax payer money in the long run. ~PJWB001
This article provides some interesting insight into Illinois criminal justice reform initiatives that have taken place. Governor Bruce Rauner had a goal of reducing the prison population 25% by 2025. It was interesting to read that Illinois incarcerated population had jumped from 10,000 to 48,000 in 3 decades. The cost of housing this many people is 1.3 billion annually which I’m sure motivated this urgency for Criminal Justice reform in Illinois. It was also interesting to read how the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in Mclean County got together in 2011 to address the chronic overcrowding in the county jail. Mclean County at the time was ranked among the state’s 20 largest counties in its rate of sending drug defendants to prison. This is interesting because it seems to shows a shift in mentality from lock-em up mentality of the 80s and 90s into seeing the need for rehabilitation. The CJCC worked together with different departments addressing different issues and coming up with solutions for these problems. Former Mclean County Sheriff Mike Emery started the practice of letting Judges know if the jail population was reaching full compacity. This shows how in some cases there can be a complete lack of knowledge from the court room to the jail. Emery also put an emphasis on releasing low level offenders at bound hearings. Defendants who could not pay 100$ for bail were kept in jail for months while their cases moved slowly through the court system. People who are not as well off should not be kept in jail due to a lack of funds. Its good to read that they worked on this issue and allowed people to be released as long as they appeared in court on their court dates. What caught my eye the most about this article was seeing that it is possible to view non-violent offenders as members of society and not just people that needed to be locked up. A person with a drug problem is different than a violent offender. Not that people should be excused from every non-violent crime committed but these people pose minimal threat and, in some cases, want help.~PJWB001
After reading this article it is very interesting to see how much our state and counties have been pushing for the reduction of incarceration rates. The level that our incarceration rates jumped after 30 years is absolutely astonishing because it went from just 10,000 to 48,000 as of 2015, which earned our state the title of 8th largest state prison population in the nation. One of the most shocking numbers to see was that our state tax payers pay 1.3 billion dollars annually in order to take care of all of our inmates. Even if you are not an advocate of lowering our incarceration rates, that number should still cause you to realize how much it is draining our funds to house some inmates who may just need rehab. With the creation of the CJCC under the guidance of Sheriff Emery, he allowed the judges to implement more pre-trial release programs, which could help in the future. Those programs were seen as good time and could help reduce a sentence even further. Another great benefit to these programs is how it can lower the incarceration rates while awaiting trial because many individuals do not have enough money in order to be released which causes them to stay in jail until their court date, costing the state more money. Obviously this will be a different story if it is a murderer because the people like that need to stay separated from everyone else in society in order to maintain public safety. I think that many other states should also look more toward reducing incarceration numbers up front rather than on the back end, not only because of the cost but because this would allow prisons and jails to lower their overall population which could help keep our correctional officers safer. -Blues001
The article states the Illinois’ incarcerated population jumped from fewer than 10,00 inmates three decades ago to more than 48,000 in 2015. This is the nation’s eighth largest state inmate total. Under Governor Bruce Rauner’s policies, the state has already cut that number by almost 7,000. Mike Emery, law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s office, started the practice of letting judges and other decision makers know when his jail was near capacity, putting more emphasis on the possible release of low-level offenders at bond hearings. Most of the time you just hear about how awful of a state Illinois is, and how we need to change this and that. 2011 is when Illinois realized that they need to get on top of the overcrowded prison population, and formed the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in McLean County. McLean County was the worst of the twenty largest counties in Illinois for incarcerated people. The fact that Illinois was able to reduce the inmate population and lessen the cost for taxpayers is great. Bruce Raunner has a goal that states that he wants to cut the "prison rolls 25%" by the year of 2025, at the rate we are going I think we can get there. With things like the pre-trial release program it is definitely helping the number of people incarcerated lower. As David Olson states "“We know from research that if people are not detained pre-trial, their chances of going to prison are less” it shows how it is effecting the number of inmates in prison. SH002
The justice system is focused on reducing time people spend behind bars and incarcerating fewer to begin with. Illinois is particularly focused on both, and gratefully doing a good job, while other states focus on just one. It costs taxpayers, us, nearly $1.3 billion yearly to provide these prisoners with cells, food, medical care, and any and all other services. That is a ridiculously high amount to spend on people that should be facing punishments. Governor Bruce Rauner has already cut this significant number by nearly 7,000 under his policies. Rauner believes that if local criminal justice officials focus on more collaborative policies than our incarceration numbers will decline. Pretrial release can give judges more options than just incarceration. Many people are sitting in jail, moving slowly through the court system simply because they can not afford a bail. Reducing infractions and non-violent offenses to only requiring an agreement to appear at their court dates in order to avoid jail time. From 2007 to 2015 overnight stays were down at an average of thirty percentage. The ability to keep people out of jail while awaiting a trial keeps people employed and able to care for their families. Supplemental sentencing credits offer reduced prison time for being part of rehabilitation programs while in lock up. Illinois is one of the first three states to take part in an ongoing National Criminal Justice Reform Project to promote criminal justice reform based upon evidence based policies. Illinois is striving to be an example on how we can better support our community by addressing crime to strengthen the safety of the public. Justice reinvestment is the cutting of prison population by using the money towards services to help better offenders. Let us help build the community by reducing the time our people spend locked up, and avoid incarcerating people when it is unnecessary. -KF001
I love this article, the reason why is because it shows how much the government is starting to care about its citizens. In the article “Justice Success story: How illinois cut its prison population. What stood out to me the most was this quote. “By 2015, as jail usage began to tip significantly towards serious felony defendants, the total bed days for low-level felonies and misdemeanor a measurement of overnight stay were down an average of about 30 percent compared with 2007.” This is very surprising because the crime rate was dropping. Even though Illinois has the largest prison population, governor Bruce Rauner is trying to put an end to it once and for all. I think that in order to decrease the prison population is to release the inmates who has non violent crimes, get them out of the community, and find them jobs. Because inmates are returning to prisons rapidly. I think that in order to stop inmates from returning to prisons is to create programs to help them. People go through tough times, and may get in trouble. Everyone needs a second chance. For Example, one of my older cousins has been on drugs since he was a teenager, hes 30 now. He constantly gets in trouble. Just recently he was sent to a rehab facility. He's never been to rehab before, but the judge requested him to stay out of trouble, or he's going back to jail. So far he said that the rehab is going pretty good. He said that he can't have any outside contact with anyone.-Jas002
In Illinois it costs taxpayers, us, close to $1.3 billion yearly just to provide these prisoners with cells, food and water, medical care, and any and all other services. To punish people in our community we are spending such an exponential amount of money. In order to decrease these costs and reduce the prison population we must focus on two major issues. The justice system is focused on one, reducing the time people spend behind bars. Whether we do this by re examining cases, or early release for good behavior, etc.. The justice systems second focus is simply incarcerating fewer people to begin with. Illinois is setting an outstanding example on how we can focus on both. Governor Bruce Rauner believes that if local criminal justice officials focus on collaborative plices then our incarceration numbers will decline. Pretrial release can potentially be very good, and it gives judges more options than just incarceration. We have a large amount of people sitting in jail, moving slowly through the court system simply because they could not afford their bail. This number of people slowly trickling through the system can be significantly decreased if we have an alternative than waiting in a jail cell, for non-violent offenders. Instead we can reduce infractions and non-violent offenders to only requiring to uphold an agreement to appear in later court dates, in order to avoid sitting in a cell. From 2007 to 2015, in Illinois, overnight stays in a jail cell were down at an average of thirty percent. Keeping these people in their homes as opposed to a holding cell allows them to stay employed and care for their families. Let us come together to build our community by reducing the time people sit in jail cells. -KF002
Well this has been an interesting article. Pretty much how do you cut on our prison population? Through looking into our laws and cutting into reduction time in our prison system. Either way, the system is not working, taxes and work ethic are steering us into a monetary hole. We need to figure out how to fix a system but still be able to punish the people that they do are wrong. I agree with just giving tickets to some of the just minor offenses but it depends on the severity of braking the law. Its good a judge has the authority to see a pretrial program fit for each inmate depending on each case what is right for pretrial. But wil bail cheap or no bail at all its easy on the system and cheaper to handle the cost of handling such an inmate through health care food and cost of shelter. In my words jail should be used for level high criminal defendants. Low level crime should be based on a one and one discretion through a judge? That way its not not a waste on our system. Financially or a bed space for some serious more offender. The lighter offenders just need a chance to get their lives straight and move on to get their priorities in line with their life. From what they data perceives in the article crime has gone down in the last few years while most went to probation. Is,t that what we are trying to accomplish? The prison reduction? Navy002
I thouse the article was interesting about the reduction of prisons in Illinois. According to Edith and Ted, “ As states grapple with persistently high incarceration numbers, with more than two million people still in prisons and jails nationwide, the main focus has been on the back end of the justice system: reducing the time inmates stay behind bars.” Illinois is trying to incarcerating less people. In Illinois the incarcerated population having fewer inmates. Underneath Rauner’s policies, Illinois have cut the number down to 7,000. According to Edith and Ted, “ One of the first Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils (CJCC) was started in central Illinois’ McLean County in 2011 to address chronic overcrowding at the county jail.” Mclean ranked the highest among the 20 largest counties. rate of sending drug defendants to state prison, with a total of 92.1 per 100,000 residents. The council comprises and appoints policy makers, community members, attorneys, and law enforcement officials. They use the county jail mostly for holding defendants charged with the most severe offenses. We still have high prison rates in this state so it is going to be hard to bring them down. Softball002
Illinois is a state that is successfully trying to reduce the current prison population, while also trying not to incarcerate as many people in the first place. Illinois Governor, Bruce Rauner has set a goal of cutting the prison population 25% by 2025. Almost three decades ago Illinois had 10,000 inmates and as of 2015 had 48,000, costing taxpayers 1.3 billion a year. Illinois has a lot of flaws but it is good to see that our state is doing something to help the taxpayers save money. Living in Illinois you hear all the time about how we are being taxed a crazy amount so the fact that they are doing something to benefit us is very refreshing. McLean County in 2011 would send 92.1 out of 100,000 inmates to prison for drug related charges. The Pretrial Release Reports give judges more discretion on the sentencing of prisoners. With this the judges have more options for the accused. McLean County had a total of 1,462 felony cases filed in 2016 which was a slight decrease compared to the prior year. Illinois Adult Redeploy is a great program. It grants funds to community based county-level services. It also has incentives for counties to keep people out of prison. It is great reading about all these states and different counties, implementing program and things of that nature to reduce the prison population. It saves people's lives and saves the taxpayers money. -wb002
I’m impressed with Governor Rauner’s and Illinois’s efforts in reducing the jail and prison populations especially in such a seemingly short time. Jail usage decreased 30 percent in 2015 from 2007 and even the number of felons put in jail or put on probation each changed by a margin of nearly 20 percent. 2011 had 42 percent of convicted felons in prison with 57 percent on probation; however, by 2016, the number of convicted felons sent to prison dropped to 29 percent the number on probation increased to 70 percent. The action of not detaining people during their pre-trial was monumental too because it actually makes the chances of that person going to prison less because they can still work, see their families, and have better accessibility to a lawyer. This allows these people to also potentially seek help at for possible mental health issues or substance abuse addictions. I can imagine this could possibly help to lower the chance or recidivism as well. The future of 2025 is looking pretty bright if the prison and jail populations continue to decrease at they rate they are now which in turn can save all of Illinois residents billions of dollars in annual taxes and possible even help to reduce the crime rate as well. -Gamma002
While reading this article and reading about the efforts that Bruce Rauner has started, I put into question, will Gov. Pritzker begin to go off of that and continue to reduce the percentage of incarceration? I currently think he will due to the legalization of marijuana but other efforts of reforming the justice system still have to be done as well. Within McLean County as well, I’m pleased to see they have started a council. This is setting the precedent to every other county and state to begin this as well as they start to reform. Also at the same time, McLean county ranked one of the highest due to sending drug defendants to prison and i think that could also be why this council was desperately needed. I also do like Emerys focus point as to putting low level offenders into more emphasis on releasing these low risk inmates. What coincides with that, is that low risk offenders will not be spending useless time in jail when they could be spending their time more on getting back into the workforce and becoming a working member of society. As he explains his reasoning, he thinks that releasing these non violent inmates will keep the capacity down and continue to weed out different inmates who do belong that extra time in jail vs an inmate who doesn’t need to be in there. This article really put into perspective what Illinois, my own state is doing to keep jail population down. I’m interested to see if our new governor can continue these efforts. -as002
I dont think its unheard of that the incarceration rate in Illinois is outstandingly high and quite frankly ridiculous. We have people getting locked up for multiple years on a simply petty offenses such as possessing a natural growing plant or even smoking that plant. This high incarceration rate stems from the war on drugs and the theory of throwing the offender in a cell and losing the key in hopes it changes their mindset. Incarceration is meant to rehabilitate an offender to teach them not to do certain things and improve their chances of entering back into society without incident. Governor Rauner initiated certain policies to hopefully lower the number of total incarcerations in the state of Illinois and it seems to be working right now because the total number has dropped by about 7000 people. From what we learned in class, it costs about 70k dollars a year to keep someone in jail and keep them healthy and fed. If that is accurate, then the state has saved close to $490,000,000 annually. I could think of a million better ways to spend that amount of money in a year, than to keep people locked up and wasting their lives away for petty offenses. Taking the tours of the jails in my college courses was one of the biggest eye openers when it comes to over incarceration of people in the State of Illinois. Peoria county is a fairly large jail and it was still packed wall-to wall with people. It stunk from so many people being packed into a sealed building and the irony is that they are all serving misdemeanor offenses or awaiting trial. FIRE002
In other previous criminal justice classes I’ve taken have led me to articles like this one. Something that I thought was pretty interesting was that the state Illinois is trying to incarcerating fewer people in the first place. Gov. Bruce Rauner has set an ambitious goal of cutting the prison rolls 25 percent by 2025. Illinois’ incarcerated population jumped from fewer than 10,000 inmates three decades ago to more than 48,000 in 2015—the nation’s eighth largest state inmate total. Providing cells, food, medical care and other services costs taxpayers $1.3 billion annually. Under Rauner’s policies, the state has already cut that number by almost 7,000. Something that I did not know until I read this article was that one of the first Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils (CJCC) was started in central Illinois’ McLean County in 2011 to address chronic overcrowding at the county jail. At the time, McLean ranked highest among the state’s 20 largest counties in its rate of sending drug defendants to state prison, with a total of 92.1 per 100,000 residents. Data compiled by the McLean County justice council has since documented major changes in the jail population that reflect changes in both the number of inmates and the composition of the jail’s population. Also, in McLean County using the county jail mostly for holding defendants charged with the most severe offenses is a likely contributor to the lower numbers sent to state prison, which I thought was a good idea. This statement here “The ability to remain out of jail while a case is pending allows people to keep their jobs, take care of their families and, in some cases, begin efforts to address mental health and substance issues that may have contributed to their offenses. Defendants also have greater opportunity to meet with their lawyers and assist with their defense when they are not sitting in jail”. Made me feel like people actually care about the “soon” to be inmates. Even though they did commit a crime and could go to jail or prison, they are still people and should be treated like one. -PB001
ReplyDeleteI agree with the government allowing criminals to stay out of jail during sentencing to help provide for their families and speak with their lawyers, but I only think they should allow the criminals that have been arrested for not violent crimes. I say this because if a murderer was arrested and then released during sentencing to help out and talk with his lawyer, what is stopping them from committing even more crimes during this time knowing they are already going to prison. For me it would be hard to believe if the state of Illinois has not thought of this, I doubt high risk criminals would be given this opportunity, but it is something to think and be worried about. -LW001
DeleteThis article is a great example of how the Illinois government is trying to meet the needs of its citizens by lowering sentences of prison inmates, which will in turn lower the amount of taxes paid to the government. Not all of what they are trying to do seems like a good idea in my eyes. I am a strong believer in “actions have their consequences” I believe that when a person commits a crime, they should have to serve the full amount of time permitted at the necessary location whether that is prison or a county jail. That does not mean I do not agree with some of the points the government is trying to get across. I agree with the ideas of keeping low crime offenders out of the prison system and keeping them in the county jails throughout their entire sentence. I think with doing this Illinois citizens can save a little money on taxes by keeping unnecessary criminals out of prison. I also agree with the article’s statement of helping the inmates become successful and help to change their life choices with the money saved from prisons. With this the criminals with the non-violent crimes can stay out of prison, while getting the help they need to become successful citizens. With this happening, Illinois citizens will be saving some tax dollars because of the smaller population of criminals in state prisons. What I do not agree with is lowering the sentences of violent criminals to save even more tax dollars by having less people in prisons. In my eyes I would rather spend more tax dollars by keeping these violent criminals in prison rather than having them wandering the streets possibly committing more dangerous crimes. All in all, I agree with keeping the criminals from non-violent crimes in county jails with lesser terms, but I do not agree with shorting the terms of violent criminals to save tax money. -LW001
ReplyDeleteI also think that this is great, we have found a way to stop spending money when it is seen as unnecessary. People should absolutely have to face consequences for the bad things that they have done. I believe that all bad things are not the same rate of badness. People that are facing non violent crimes should not be taken away from their families just so taxpayers can pay for their stay. While instead of being locked up waiting for a court date, these people can be maintaining their lives and working jobs. We just need to be smart about who we decide to save money on, ultimately.
Delete-KF001
I think it is great that Illinois is trying to decrease their prison population with both reducing the time inmates stay behind bars or incarcerating fewer people in the first place. The article states the Illinois’ incarcerated population jumped from fewer than 10,00 inmates three decades ago to more than 48,000 in 2015. This is the nation’s eighth largest state inmate total. Under Governor Bruce Rauner’s policies, the state has already cut that number by almost 7,000. Mike Emery, law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s office, started the practice of letting judges and other decision makers know when his jail was near capacity, putting more emphasis on the possible release of low-level offenders at bond hearings. Data from the McLean county justice council has seen major changes in the jail population that reflect changes in both the number of inmates and the composition of the jail’s population. By 2015, the total bed days for low-level felonies and misdemeanors were down an average of 30% when compared to 2007. McLean County’s crime rate was also decreasing. The article states that, the shift in McLean County to using the county jail mostly for holding defendants charged with the most severe offenses is a likely contributor to the lower numbers sent to state prison. Illinois Adult Redeploy, which is a state program that grants funds to community-based county-levels services, also played a part in reducing the number of defendants this county sends to stat prisons each year. In all, state prison admissions from the country dropped from 385 in 2011 to 293 in 2016. Illinois officials hope that four other counties that have created local criminal justice counties with the help of the state will have results similar to McLean County’s results.-JU002
ReplyDeleteAs of 2015 Illinois had around 48,000 inmates, which ranked them eighth for the largest prison population by state. Governor Bruce Rauner set a goal to decrease the prison population by 25% by 2025. This goal is going in the right footsteps, because as of 2019 there is 7,000 less prisoners than in 2015. It’s nice to hear that Illinois is actually doing something good for a change. Most of the time you just hear about how awful of a state Illinois is, and how we need to change this and that. 2011 is when Illinois realized that they need to get on top of the overcrowded prison population, and formed the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in McLean County. McLean County was the worst of the twenty largest counties in Illinois for incarcerated people. Mike Emery who is now the law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s office would let judges know when their jail was getting to max limit. This was done while he was the County Sheriff. This then would allow the judge to decide on whether or not certain low level inmates could be released from jail. I think this was a great job on Sheriff Mike Emery’s part, because many inmates were being held in jails for very low level nonviolent crimes. This allowed the jail to hold inmates who actually committed a more serious crime rather than those who were being held for a misdemeanor. Even though Illinois has a high prison population still, the decrease is something to be happy about. I think that by 2025 cutting the prison population by even more than 25% is very well possible. -CRJB002
ReplyDeleteThe article states that there are over 2 million people incarcerated world wide, thats a lot of people in prison. Now, I think it is great that Illinois has reduced the amount of people incarcerated because it the "nations eighth largest state inmate population." In McClean county they have the highest rate of sending drug offenders to a state prison out of all the 20 counties in Illinois. In my opinion I do think that some drug offenders dont need as much time as they get. I do think that with a substantial amount of lets say marijuana they should have a little less time then they normally get because as it is getting legalized there isn't much need to keep them that long in the places it is illegal anyways. Also with that being said it also states that " taxpayers pay $1.3 billion annually" for the cost of food and other services for all those inmates. The fact that Illinois was able to reduce the inmate population and lessen the cost for taxpayers is great. Bruce Raunner has a goal that states that he wants to cut the "prison rolls 25%" by the year of 2025, at the rate we are going I think we can get there. With things like the pre-trial release program it is definitely helping the number of people incarcerated lower. As David Olson states "“We know from research that if people are not detained pre-trial, their chances of going to prison are less” it shows how it is effecting the number of inmates in prison. I do think that people should be punished for any crime they commit however it doesnt help much when prisons are over crowded so I think with what we are doing now it is helping. -wags002
ReplyDeleteI think is great that Illinois is now working to release people sooner and looking at incarcerating less people. This really should be something that all states should consider looking into fewer incarcerations and lowering prison sentences to help boost criminal justice reform. Former governor Bruce Rauner had set a goal of cutting down the amount of people in prison by 25%, by the year 2025. Before this goal, Illinois had had over 48,000 inmates incarcerated, the eighth largest state inmate total. Happily, under Rauner’s policy, Illinois has cut down this number by nearly 7,000. The Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils was established in McLean County in 2011 to address the issue of overcrowding at the county jail. The goal of this new council was to coordinate efforts with elected policy makers, members of the community, attorneys and law enforcement officials, to address the overcrowding issues in McLean county. Former County Sheriff Mike Emery is quoted saying, “The CJCC erased the boundaries between the departments as we all worked together for the overall criminal justice system.” Emery has also started the process of letting judges know when the jail is getting to capacity. Participation in pretrial release by defendants also give judges more options, rather than jumping straight into incarceration. This new organization is a great step forward in reducing jail population and preventing overcrowding. I think criminal justice systems around the US should look into what Illinois is working on for reform. It’s a great step in continuing Rauner’s bold policy on jail population reduction. -OUTATIME002
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that earlier release and overall less incarceration is the answer to making incarceration rates plummet. Bruce Rauner really got the ball rolling, and set Illinois up for success and I hope that his plan continues to be carried out. Being an Illinois native it is refreshing to see a reform working and positive changes all around. Judges having options other than incarceration, and using them, is probably going to be one of the most integral parts of carrying out Rauner's goal by 2025. -psych001
DeleteKnowing that people are seeing issues and doing what they can to fix those problems is always good news. In this case, there is an issue among prisons and jails with very high populations. McLean county specifically has made some improvements with their criminal justice system. McLean county has started arresting fewer people, giving more probation sentences, and greatly reduced the number of people sent to state prisons. Through these efforts, the county has been able to save money on housing inmates, keep citizens in the community, and they have actually made money from a state program for reducing the amount of inmates sent to state prisons. The article had mentioned that some of the people serving time cannot afford a bail of only one hundred dollars or that some were sitting in jail for violating an ordinance and other petty crimes. Arresting these people and holding them there is wasting money that could be used on rehabilitation or to build and maintain the community. I think McLean county is doing the right thing and that other counties all over the nation follow in its lead. -arm002
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your statement. I also think McLean county is doing what's best for the outcome. They are thinking of ways to better benefit “those people”. I believe that the criminal justice system needs a lot of improvements and the more the smaller towns do that it will help. You’re so right about arresting people and holding them is a waste of money that could be used on rehabilitation or to build and maintain the community. Why aren’t we helping these people, yes they did a crime, but something is obviously wrong with them. Why can’t we help them out? -PB001
DeleteHey arm002,
DeleteI completely agree with your statement regarding bail. I had something similar in my response. I believe that just because someone has been accused of a crime they should not have to be locked up while awaiting their trial. What is the point of even being behind bars if they have yet to be sentenced? I like that Mclain county has been arresting fewer people/using their discretion properly and going more toward probation. People change and a lot of the time if given proper rehabilitation can lower chances of recidivism (especially if targeted when they are children).
-TanLionNala001
The state of Illinois is in the process of cutting the prison population, by cutting their time in there. It seems that with Bruce Runer in office he is making steps to help less incarceration. There are more inmates now in 2019 then there was three decades ago. I think that McLean County is doing their best at not sending people back to prison but instead helping them with giving them probation. One reason that the prison population is high is due to bail. According to this article, there are people spending months in jail based on $100 that they can't pay. I feel that petty crimes that aren't that serious that leads to lesser bonds should be in some way reduced. I also like how McLean County is holding more serious criminals which is helping reduce prison populations. There are some programs that are placed for inmates to not want to go back to prison, which is a awesome idea only if the person wants it. The state is really working towards fixing the problem when it comes to over populated prisons. The article mentioned several things that Illinois is accomplishing to stop this issue. One thing is involving the community so the inmates would have something to do. Another this is the money left over and saved is going to services for the inmates. At the end of this instead of making the problem worse for people to be in prison, they are trying to make it better for those who have a criminal past so they could do better in life. -zw002
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about the McClean County trying to do their best for the state because they are the ones that have seen the results with the different policies they are following to better prison population. I also liked that you stated one of the reasonings behind the prison population is bail which I agree with because some people are stuck spending months in a cell over a small amount that they can’t pay due to financial problems which isn’t fair if they are in their for a less serious crime. I liked that you included a couple different reasons how the state is trying to fix the population issue in prisons. -HL001
DeleteThis article shows the effort the government is trying to make to lower the population in prison but it’s also taking money from him because the less people in prison then the less taxes he will earn. So if the population went from 658 to 329 then the government gets less money in taxes because each person in prison is worth so much money but if it’s less people in prison than less taxes being paid. So Illinois will be lowe tax because of the low population in prison which is a great idea but I don’t agree with lowering violent criminals sentences. Every criminal deserves consequences for their actions. So “being soft on crime” so that the taxes can stay low is really a bad idea more than a good idea because people will then start taking advantage of that and the world will be much more of a crazy place. Before anything that should motivate police departments to get tough on crime so that there will be no unnecessary “criminals” in prison and start doing better with solving cases such as robbery, murde, etc. That will also make the probation population higher to because those that have less time in jail get to finish the rest of their time on probation rather than jail and that's another way to lower the prison population. Everything depends on how serious is the crime because some people do deserve to sit in jail and serve their whole time without parole and some people just need a little scared and tap on the hand.-KenzieLand001
ReplyDeleteThe state of Illinois is taking steps in the right direction to decrease our overall incarceration rates. Governor Bruce Rauner set a very intense goal for the state to be completed by 2025, and we have already made progress that makes it seem like that end goal could be attainable. As of 2015 the number of incarcerated people in Illinois was almost 50,000 and under Rauner's plan that number dropped by 7,000 people by 2018. Mclean County ranked first in the number of drug offenders they were sending to state prison. A pre trial release program was implemented that would let inmates keep track of their conduct to be able to be used later on in their case. I think that was a great idea because with those in place it provided more options other than incarceration, especially for people who had committed low level crimes. Before the reform was put in place there were people sitting in jail for the smallest of infractions because they couldn't pay the $100 to get out. Now, in those cases they just have to agree to go to a future court date. Though it may seem insignificant,those people that just couldn't pay really added up, and once less and less of those offenders were being incarcerated there was a noticeable decrease in the jail population. By holding more serious offenders, rather than pre-trial detainees, Mclean county is helping keep prison populations lower. In general, Illinois is doing great at fixing the problem at hand, and if we stay on track with the plan that Rauner started I truly believe that his goal will be met by the year 2025.-psych001
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying about people being in jail because of bail. There are people out there who commit crimes so they can feed their families or even just provide for themselves . Which is why they can’t afford to pay that one hundred dollar bail. This is a good thing that Bruce Runer is doing because it helps a lot of people continue to live their lives while dealing with a court case. Like you said if it’s a petty crime they should get a smaller bond. Maybe if it was fifty dollars instead or if they could do a payment plan it could help them out more. By helping prisoners have jobs when they are released from prison or jail could help them stop committing crimes. Once an inmate is released he or she is going to have a tough time finding a job and a place to live. Batman002
DeleteI think its nice to hear about Illinois doing something right and getting credit for a change. I think the Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform (CJCC) is a great idea and it deserves the national recognition it has received. Its good that the criminal justice system in Illinois is spending less time and energy locking up low level offenders and allowing that space to be taken by violent offenders. Allowing these nonviolent offenders to be out without bail allows for more opportunities to mount their defense and provide for their families which provides for the community as a whole. The state-run Illinois Adult Redeploy program is also amazing for these communities by providing local funding to those who incarcerate less offenders. This incentivizes local courts reallocate that money into community outreach. Lastly and perhaps one of the best efforts provided in the article is the sentencing reform law. This reform law allows defendants who violate probation to be jailed locally instead of in state prison and allows minor offenders to spend time serving probation in their local counties rather than the nine months they'd spend in state prison. Overall this helps lessen the tax we feel supporting overcrowding in state prisons and again allows these nonviolent offenders to return to their communities to support their families. Maybe even in the long run helping to break patterns of broken homes and ending the circle of poverty experienced when one or both parents are incarcerated on petty offenses. This was a very inciteful read. -CamSlifton002
ReplyDeleteIn this article, they are talking about how we should reduce the prison population and start incarcerating fewer people in the first place. Illinois is the first state that is trying to do both by following policy set by Governor Bruce Rauner where prison rolls will be cut by 25 percent by 2025 and the number has already gone down 7,000. In McLean County, Illinois data has been compiled and shows major changes in the jail populations which reflects the changes on how the jail is run and number of inmates. In the article, I liked the section where David Olson talks about how if people are locked up pre-trial they are more likely to go to jail but if they aren’t their chances are less likely. Not being locked up before trial is very beneficial for people because that means they can keep their jobs, take care of their families, or even confront mental health issues. Another section I think is beneficial to prison reduction is the Illinois Adult Redeploy, which is a state program that helps people redirect from prison with funds towards community-based services so people can stay in the community instead of being locked up. I like how McLean county has had their council for about 7 years and it is still secure which makes Illinois one step closer to reducing the prison population. In ways it makes sense that if they do lock people up its better to hold them in local jails instead of state prison. The law says that if inmates participate in rehabilitation programs they can shorten their time in the prison which another step closer and helps the inmates overall if they want to reduce that time. It is nice to see how Illinois can provide a good example on how other states can also follow plans and policies to encourage people to cut the prison population in half for future benefit.-HL001
ReplyDeleteIllinois has taken an interesting approach to prison reform. When prison reform is typically discussed, the emphasis is usually on sentence reduction. Under the direction of Governor Bruce Rauner, the emphasis has been placed instead on reducing the number of individuals incarcerated initially. The high incarceration rate has had a tremendous effect on the state budget in Illinois. In 2015, the cost of the maintaining state prisons was an estimated 1.3 billion dollars annually. Governor Rauner’s goal was to reduce this number by 25%. Part of this initiative introduced the Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils in Mclean County. This unites and promotes collaboration between the local criminal justice system, local jails, state prisons, and the judiciary system. In this system, the judges would have knowledge of when the jail is at near capacity. Judges and prosecutors could use this knowledge as a basis when sentencing low level offenders. It would be at the judge’s discretion, but the judge would have the knowledge of the capacity of the jail. There are arguments that people should be sentenced by the crime alone and not based on “space at the jail”. However, studies show that low level offenders, such as those incarcerated for ordinance violations, have a lesser chance of re-offending if they are not jailed before trial. They are able to help with their defense and show a pattern of good behavior. Records of conduct and data supports that this gives the offenders more options at reform. There are also programs such as the Illinois Adult Redeployment to help direct people towards community based programs to offer alternative reforms for people in an effort to reduce the number of people incarcerated. These joint ventures are all necessary in lowering the number of people incarcerated in Illinois. –Zen002
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read why people are being locked up. I agree, people who cannot afford 100 dollars should not be behind bars where they are not able to better prepare themselves or their families for their upcoming cases. Maybe if it was fifty dollars instead or if they could do a payment plan it could help them out more. By helping prisoners have jobs when they are released from prison or jail could help them stop committing crimes. Once an inmate is released, he or she is going to have a tough time finding a job and a place to live. Also, those with ordinance violation only now required to appear in courts for their trial than waiting in jail. I believe it was a good idea because those people will able to keep their work, support, and be with their families. Other than that, I did find that the Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform is working. SH002
DeleteIllinois is really moving forward when it comes to decreasing the number of people behind bars. In 2015 we as a state became eight in the nation for highest number of inmates. But since Governor Bruce Rauner took over office, the number of inmates incarcerated has dropped by almost 7,000 from our whopping 48,000. A Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform appointed by Rauner forces criminal justice professionals to focus on collaborative policies that could possibly help the incarceration rates. The sheriff of McLean County, Mike Emery, had to make some changes back in 2011 that are still helping us with the decrease in populations today. Before these reform measures were in place, people who had city ordinance violations, the lowest form of criminal conduct, were sitting in jail. With the pre-trial release program, defendants are only required to agree to appear to their future court date to avoid spending time in jail. “We know from research that if people are not detained pre-trial, their chances of going to prison are less,” said David Olson, co-director of the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy and Practice at Loyola University. That is said to be true for a number of reasons but mostly because keeping people out of jail means they keep their jobs and they can still provide for their families in some cases. Illinois Adult Redeploy is a state program that redirects money to communities so that they can invest in local efforts to help keep people out of prison such as probation programs.
ReplyDelete--coffeeplease002
I agree that it would be very important to continue to allow judges to have the knowledge of when a prison or jail is reaching capacity to adjust accordingly. Also I do like the study that shows how the recidivism rates are lower in criminals who do not wait in jail for their trial date. Not many of the low end crime committing individuals are able to afford to bail out and wait for their court date and having an individual stay in jail not only costs more, but it usually results in a higher chance of repeating in criminal behavior after they get out of jail. -Blues001
DeleteAfter reading this article, I found that there are more than two million people incarcerated in prisons and jails nationwide. The focus of the justice system is to reduce the time that inmates stay behind the bar and detain fewer people. I am glad that the State of Illinois wants to do both. In January 2018, Gov. Rauner set a goal to cut prison rolls by twenty-five percent by 2025, which I believe is a great idea. It is because three decades ago, there are fewer than 10,000 inmates behind bars, and as of 2015, there are more than 48,000 inmates. It cost taxpayers 1.3 billion dollars annually to provide food, cells, medical care, and other services to keep inmates behind bars. Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils started in McLean County in 2011 were at the time ranked highest among the state’s counties that sending drug defendants to state prison. In my opinion, not all drug offenders should go to state prison. Example of this is cannabis, and they should pay fine if they got caught with ten grams or less. This way, it will save taxpayers money to keep them behind bars. David Olson states that “We know from research that if people are not detained pre-trial, their chances of going to prison are less." I do agree with it because it allows them to keep working, take care, and be with their families while waiting for the case trial. Also, meeting with their lawyers for their defense. I do like the Illinois Adult Redeploy program that diverts people from prison by keeping them in the community. It saves the state money that can be investing in communities. Such programs have proven that in 2011, 385 state prison admissions dropped to 293 in 2016. If these kinds of program do help to decrease the states prison population, I hope that it continued by recent Governor and upcoming. -Cancun001
ReplyDeleteI found this article really interesting especially because it talks about the state I live in. "Illinois’ incarcerated population jumped from fewer than 10,000 inmates three decades ago to more than 48,000 in 2015—the nation’s eighth largest state inmate total." Which isn't really surprising to me because I know that most of this happens in Chicago. With the enormous amount of drugs that go on and all the shootings that occur in the city. But surprisingly Gov. Bruce Rauner has set an ambitious goal of cutting the prison rolls 25 percent by 2025. Most of the offenders that are in jail or in prison are there because of a drug charge. Mostly weed and Distribution of a substance most of the crime in Illinois come from Chicago where young people are selling drugs to make money because their parents needs Money. Most parents don’t know there child is out on the street shooting guns and selling drugs to make money. Majority of the inmates in jail are under the age of 25 because they made poor decisions and some deserve to be in jail. I’m the article it states that “Before the reform measures, inmates who were unable to pay as little as 100 dollars to be released on bail sat for months while their cases moved slowly through the court system.” Which is because they caught and locked up low end offenders. Just because your locked up doesn’t mean that you have the funds to pay for bail. One of the things that I liked that they change was the defendants who were charged with an ordinance violation or similar non violent offenses require only there agreement to appear for court dates to avoid jail time. Most offenders don’t want to get in any more trouble than they already are. A few might try to hide away from this but majority come back in hopes of beating the case. Or try to get there sentence lowered to probation, house arrest, and or community service. By doing this it also helps people who have families and to be able to still have a job and provide for that family. The defendant has time to find a lawyer and time to prep for the case. Batman001
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you, not all that are locked up don’t have money for bail. Also, those with ordinance violation only now required to appear in courts for their trial than waiting in jail. I believe it was a good idea because those people will able to keep their work, support, and be with their families. Other than that, I did find that the Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform is working. It is proven in McLean County state prison, that in 2011, 42 percent went to prison and 57 percent were put on probation. By 2016, 29 percent of convicted felons were sent to prison, and 70 percent went on probation. -Cancun001
DeleteIn the article it states that “Before the reform measures, inmates who were unable to pay as little as 100 dollars to be released on bail sat for months while their cases moved slowly through the court system.” Which is because they caught and locked up low end offenders. Just because your locked up doesn’t mean that you have the funds to pay for bail. One of the things that I liked that they change was the defendants who were charged with an ordinance violation or similar non violent offenses require only there agreement to appear for court dates to avoid jail time. Most offenders don’t want to get in any more trouble than they already are. A few might try to hide away from this but majority come back in hopes of beating the case. Or try to get there sentence lowered to probation, house arrest, and or community service. By doing this it also helps people who have families and to be able to still have a job and provide for that family. The defendant has time to find a lawyer and time to prep for the case. I found this article really interesting especially because it talks about the state I live in. "Illinois’ incarcerated population jumped from fewer than 10,000 inmates three decades ago to more than 48,000 in 2015—the nation’s eighth largest state inmate total." Which isn't really surprising to me because I know that most of this happens in Chicago. With the enormous amount of drugs that go on and all the shootings that occur in the city. But surprisingly Gov. Bruce Rauner has set an ambitious goal of cutting the prison rolls 25 percent by 2025. Most of the offenders that are in jail or in prison are there because of a drug charge. Mostly weed and Distribution of a substance most of the crime in Illinois come from Chicago where young people are selling drugs to make money because their parents needs Money. Most parents don’t know there child is out on the street shooting guns and selling drugs to make money. Majority of the inmates in jail are under the age of 25 because they made poor decisions and some deserve to be in jail. Batman002
ReplyDeleteThis article was interesting ESPECIALLY because it focuses on Illinois.The first fact that really got me was that Illinois has the eighth largest state inmate total. Illinois’ prison population jumped from fewer than 10,000 inmates three decades ago to more than 48,000 in 2015. Under our current governor has already cut the incarceration number by 7,000. For the most part, the entire article had several good facts but this is the one I want to focus on the most. Prison populations in Illinois were high because of the lack of rehabilitation. Jails now tend to fill from wall to wall for capitalist reasons rather than for the right reasons. Most of the people behind bars are just there because they are awaiting trial and could not afford the 100 dollars or could not have someone else bail them out. I believe that a person should not have to sit behind bars because of a crime they have been accused of/ have committed because they have not OFFICIALLY been sentenced to many years. Taxpayers are baying 1.3 billion dollars annually on prisons and jails. This money could be saved for counseling or rehabilitation rather than ALL on jails but because it has turned in to “warehousing” our money is all poured there. If efforts remain high in Illinois with Bruce Rauner’s goal (s) we can hopefully reduce the prison population 25% like he wants by 2025.
ReplyDelete-TanLionNala001
It was interesting to read why people are being locked up. I agree, people who cannot afford 100 dollars should not be behind bars where they are not able to better prepare themselves or their families for their upcoming cases. By leaving them in jail they are only increasing their chances in staying there or heading to prison. 1.3 billion dollars to house inmates is a very large sum of money that can be better used for rehabilitation program as you had said. Through programs that address the problems that many of these low-level non-violent offenders commit will save tax payer money in the long run. ~PJWB001
DeleteThis article provides some interesting insight into Illinois criminal justice reform initiatives that have taken place. Governor Bruce Rauner had a goal of reducing the prison population 25% by 2025. It was interesting to read that Illinois incarcerated population had jumped from 10,000 to 48,000 in 3 decades. The cost of housing this many people is 1.3 billion annually which I’m sure motivated this urgency for Criminal Justice reform in Illinois. It was also interesting to read how the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in Mclean County got together in 2011 to address the chronic overcrowding in the county jail. Mclean County at the time was ranked among the state’s 20 largest counties in its rate of sending drug defendants to prison. This is interesting because it seems to shows a shift in mentality from lock-em up mentality of the 80s and 90s into seeing the need for rehabilitation. The CJCC worked together with different departments addressing different issues and coming up with solutions for these problems. Former Mclean County Sheriff Mike Emery started the practice of letting Judges know if the jail population was reaching full compacity. This shows how in some cases there can be a complete lack of knowledge from the court room to the jail. Emery also put an emphasis on releasing low level offenders at bound hearings. Defendants who could not pay 100$ for bail were kept in jail for months while their cases moved slowly through the court system. People who are not as well off should not be kept in jail due to a lack of funds. Its good to read that they worked on this issue and allowed people to be released as long as they appeared in court on their court dates. What caught my eye the most about this article was seeing that it is possible to view non-violent offenders as members of society and not just people that needed to be locked up. A person with a drug problem is different than a violent offender. Not that people should be excused from every non-violent crime committed but these people pose minimal threat and, in some cases, want help.~PJWB001
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article it is very interesting to see how much our state and counties have been pushing for the reduction of incarceration rates. The level that our incarceration rates jumped after 30 years is absolutely astonishing because it went from just 10,000 to 48,000 as of 2015, which earned our state the title of 8th largest state prison population in the nation. One of the most shocking numbers to see was that our state tax payers pay 1.3 billion dollars annually in order to take care of all of our inmates. Even if you are not an advocate of lowering our incarceration rates, that number should still cause you to realize how much it is draining our funds to house some inmates who may just need rehab. With the creation of the CJCC under the guidance of Sheriff Emery, he allowed the judges to implement more pre-trial release programs, which could help in the future. Those programs were seen as good time and could help reduce a sentence even further. Another great benefit to these programs is how it can lower the incarceration rates while awaiting trial because many individuals do not have enough money in order to be released which causes them to stay in jail until their court date, costing the state more money. Obviously this will be a different story if it is a murderer because the people like that need to stay separated from everyone else in society in order to maintain public safety. I think that many other states should also look more toward reducing incarceration numbers up front rather than on the back end, not only because of the cost but because this would allow prisons and jails to lower their overall population which could help keep our correctional officers safer. -Blues001
ReplyDeleteThe article states the Illinois’ incarcerated population jumped from fewer than 10,00 inmates three decades ago to more than 48,000 in 2015. This is the nation’s eighth largest state inmate total. Under Governor Bruce Rauner’s policies, the state has already cut that number by almost 7,000. Mike Emery, law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s office, started the practice of letting judges and other decision makers know when his jail was near capacity, putting more emphasis on the possible release of low-level offenders at bond hearings. Most of the time you just hear about how awful of a state Illinois is, and how we need to change this and that. 2011 is when Illinois realized that they need to get on top of the overcrowded prison population, and formed the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in McLean County. McLean County was the worst of the twenty largest counties in Illinois for incarcerated people. The fact that Illinois was able to reduce the inmate population and lessen the cost for taxpayers is great. Bruce Raunner has a goal that states that he wants to cut the "prison rolls 25%" by the year of 2025, at the rate we are going I think we can get there. With things like the pre-trial release program it is definitely helping the number of people incarcerated lower. As David Olson states "“We know from research that if people are not detained pre-trial, their chances of going to prison are less” it shows how it is effecting the number of inmates in prison. SH002
ReplyDeleteThe justice system is focused on reducing time people spend behind bars and incarcerating fewer to begin with. Illinois is particularly focused on both, and gratefully doing a good job, while other states focus on just one. It costs taxpayers, us, nearly $1.3 billion yearly to provide these prisoners with cells, food, medical care, and any and all other services. That is a ridiculously high amount to spend on people that should be facing punishments. Governor Bruce Rauner has already cut this significant number by nearly 7,000 under his policies. Rauner believes that if local criminal justice officials focus on more collaborative policies than our incarceration numbers will decline. Pretrial release can give judges more options than just incarceration. Many people are sitting in jail, moving slowly through the court system simply because they can not afford a bail. Reducing infractions and non-violent offenses to only requiring an agreement to appear at their court dates in order to avoid jail time. From 2007 to 2015 overnight stays were down at an average of thirty percentage. The ability to keep people out of jail while awaiting a trial keeps people employed and able to care for their families. Supplemental sentencing credits offer reduced prison time for being part of rehabilitation programs while in lock up. Illinois is one of the first three states to take part in an ongoing National Criminal Justice Reform Project to promote criminal justice reform based upon evidence based policies. Illinois is striving to be an example on how we can better support our community by addressing crime to strengthen the safety of the public. Justice reinvestment is the cutting of prison population by using the money towards services to help better offenders. Let us help build the community by reducing the time our people spend locked up, and avoid incarcerating people when it is unnecessary.
ReplyDelete-KF001
I love this article, the reason why is because it shows how much the government is starting to care about its citizens. In the article “Justice Success story: How illinois cut its prison population. What stood out to me the most was this quote. “By 2015, as jail usage began to tip significantly towards serious felony defendants, the total bed days for low-level felonies and misdemeanor a measurement of overnight stay were down an average of about 30 percent compared with 2007.” This is very surprising because the crime rate was dropping. Even though Illinois has the largest prison population, governor Bruce Rauner is trying to put an end to it once and for all. I think that in order to decrease the prison population is to release the inmates who has non violent crimes, get them out of the community, and find them jobs. Because inmates are returning to prisons rapidly. I think that in order to stop inmates from returning to prisons is to create programs to help them. People go through tough times, and may get in trouble. Everyone needs a second chance. For Example, one of my older cousins has been on drugs since he was a teenager, hes 30 now. He constantly gets in trouble. Just recently he was sent to a rehab facility. He's never been to rehab before, but the judge requested him to stay out of trouble, or he's going back to jail. So far he said that the rehab is going pretty good. He said that he can't have any outside contact with anyone.-Jas002
ReplyDeleteIn Illinois it costs taxpayers, us, close to $1.3 billion yearly just to provide these prisoners with cells, food and water, medical care, and any and all other services. To punish people in our community we are spending such an exponential amount of money. In order to decrease these costs and reduce the prison population we must focus on two major issues. The justice system is focused on one, reducing the time people spend behind bars. Whether we do this by re examining cases, or early release for good behavior, etc.. The justice systems second focus is simply incarcerating fewer people to begin with. Illinois is setting an outstanding example on how we can focus on both. Governor Bruce Rauner believes that if local criminal justice officials focus on collaborative plices then our incarceration numbers will decline. Pretrial release can potentially be very good, and it gives judges more options than just incarceration. We have a large amount of people sitting in jail, moving slowly through the court system simply because they could not afford their bail. This number of people slowly trickling through the system can be significantly decreased if we have an alternative than waiting in a jail cell, for non-violent offenders. Instead we can reduce infractions and non-violent offenders to only requiring to uphold an agreement to appear in later court dates, in order to avoid sitting in a cell. From 2007 to 2015, in Illinois, overnight stays in a jail cell were down at an average of thirty percent. Keeping these people in their homes as opposed to a holding cell allows them to stay employed and care for their families. Let us come together to build our community by reducing the time people sit in jail cells.
ReplyDelete-KF002
Well this has been an interesting article. Pretty much how do you cut on our prison population? Through looking into our laws and cutting into reduction time in our prison system. Either way, the system is not working, taxes and work ethic are steering us into a monetary hole. We need to figure out how to fix a system but still be able to punish the people that they do are wrong. I agree with just giving tickets to some of the just minor offenses but it depends on the severity of braking the law. Its good a judge has the authority to see a pretrial program fit for each inmate depending on each case what is right for pretrial. But wil bail cheap or no bail at all its easy on the system and cheaper to handle the cost of handling such an inmate through health care food and cost of shelter. In my words jail should be used for level high criminal defendants. Low level crime should be based on a one and one discretion through a judge? That way its not not a waste on our system. Financially or a bed space for some serious more offender. The lighter offenders just need a chance to get their lives straight and move on to get their priorities in line with their life. From what they data perceives in the article crime has gone down in the last few years while most went to probation. Is,t that what we are trying to accomplish? The prison reduction? Navy002
ReplyDeleteI thouse the article was interesting about the reduction of prisons in Illinois. According to Edith and Ted, “ As states grapple with persistently high incarceration numbers, with more than two million people still in prisons and jails nationwide, the main focus has been on the back end of the justice system: reducing the time inmates stay behind bars.” Illinois is trying to incarcerating less people. In Illinois the incarcerated population having fewer inmates. Underneath Rauner’s policies, Illinois have cut the number down to 7,000. According to Edith and Ted, “ One of the first Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils (CJCC) was started in central Illinois’ McLean County in 2011 to address chronic overcrowding at the county jail.” Mclean ranked the highest among the 20 largest counties. rate of sending drug defendants to state prison, with a total of 92.1 per 100,000 residents. The council comprises and appoints policy makers, community members, attorneys, and law enforcement officials. They use the county jail mostly for holding defendants charged with the most severe offenses. We still have high prison rates in this state so it is going to be hard to bring them down. Softball002
ReplyDeleteIllinois is a state that is successfully trying to reduce the current prison population, while also trying not to incarcerate as many people in the first place. Illinois Governor, Bruce Rauner has set a goal of cutting the prison population 25% by 2025. Almost three decades ago Illinois had 10,000 inmates and as of 2015 had 48,000, costing taxpayers 1.3 billion a year. Illinois has a lot of flaws but it is good to see that our state is doing something to help the taxpayers save money. Living in Illinois you hear all the time about how we are being taxed a crazy amount so the fact that they are doing something to benefit us is very refreshing. McLean County in 2011 would send 92.1 out of 100,000 inmates to prison for drug related charges. The Pretrial Release Reports give judges more discretion on the sentencing of prisoners. With this the judges have more options for the accused. McLean County had a total of 1,462 felony cases filed in 2016 which was a slight decrease compared to the prior year. Illinois Adult Redeploy is a great program. It grants funds to community based county-level services. It also has incentives for counties to keep people out of prison. It is great reading about all these states and different counties, implementing program and things of that nature to reduce the prison population. It saves people's lives and saves the taxpayers money. -wb002
ReplyDeleteI’m impressed with Governor Rauner’s and Illinois’s efforts in reducing the jail and prison populations especially in such a seemingly short time. Jail usage decreased 30 percent in 2015 from 2007 and even the number of felons put in jail or put on probation each changed by a margin of nearly 20 percent. 2011 had 42 percent of convicted felons in prison with 57 percent on probation; however, by 2016, the number of convicted felons sent to prison dropped to 29 percent the number on probation increased to 70 percent. The action of not detaining people during their pre-trial was monumental too because it actually makes the chances of that person going to prison less because they can still work, see their families, and have better accessibility to a lawyer. This allows these people to also potentially seek help at for possible mental health issues or substance abuse addictions. I can imagine this could possibly help to lower the chance or recidivism as well. The future of 2025 is looking pretty bright if the prison and jail populations continue to decrease at they rate they are now which in turn can save all of Illinois residents billions of dollars in annual taxes and possible even help to reduce the crime rate as well. -Gamma002
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this article and reading about the efforts that Bruce Rauner has started, I put into question, will Gov. Pritzker begin to go off of that and continue to reduce the percentage of incarceration? I currently think he will due to the legalization of marijuana but other efforts of reforming the justice system still have to be done as well. Within McLean County as well, I’m pleased to see they have started a council. This is setting the precedent to every other county and state to begin this as well as they start to reform. Also at the same time, McLean county ranked one of the highest due to sending drug defendants to prison and i think that could also be why this council was desperately needed. I also do like Emerys focus point as to putting low level offenders into more emphasis on releasing these low risk inmates. What coincides with that, is that low risk offenders will not be spending useless time in jail when they could be spending their time more on getting back into the workforce and becoming a working member of society. As he explains his reasoning, he thinks that releasing these non violent inmates will keep the capacity down and continue to weed out different inmates who do belong that extra time in jail vs an inmate who doesn’t need to be in there. This article really put into perspective what Illinois, my own state is doing to keep jail population down. I’m interested to see if our new governor can continue these efforts. -as002
ReplyDeleteI dont think its unheard of that the incarceration rate in Illinois is outstandingly high and quite frankly ridiculous. We have people getting locked up for multiple years on a simply petty offenses such as possessing a natural growing plant or even smoking that plant. This high incarceration rate stems from the war on drugs and the theory of throwing the offender in a cell and losing the key in hopes it changes their mindset. Incarceration is meant to rehabilitate an offender to teach them not to do certain things and improve their chances of entering back into society without incident. Governor Rauner initiated certain policies to hopefully lower the number of total incarcerations in the state of Illinois and it seems to be working right now because the total number has dropped by about 7000 people. From what we learned in class, it costs about 70k dollars a year to keep someone in jail and keep them healthy and fed. If that is accurate, then the state has saved close to $490,000,000 annually. I could think of a million better ways to spend that amount of money in a year, than to keep people locked up and wasting their lives away for petty offenses. Taking the tours of the jails in my college courses was one of the biggest eye openers when it comes to over incarceration of people in the State of Illinois. Peoria county is a fairly large jail and it was still packed wall-to wall with people. It stunk from so many people being packed into a sealed building and the irony is that they are all serving misdemeanor offenses or awaiting trial. FIRE002
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