Proposed legislation would expand programming, safely reduce Illinois’ prison population and save taxpayers more than $1 billion over three years
Advocates, system-impacted Illinoisans, legislators, and community leaders will gather at the Women’s Justice Institute (WJI) Reclamation Center for a community forum Friday, September 18 to call for passage of Credit for Change, a sentencing reform proposal that would allow incarcerated people who are not serving natural life sentences to earn day-for-day credit for good behavior and expand access to sentence credits through participation in treatment and programming.
Credit for Change (HB5287/SB3354), sponsored by Illinois Reps. Justin Slaughter and Barbara Hernandez, and Illinois Sen. Robert Peters, is rooted in a simple principle: Illinois can hold people accountable while also creating meaningful opportunities for rehabilitation and change. By rewarding good behavior and participation in programming, the proposal would help make prisons safer, strengthen reentry outcomes and responsibly reduce Illinois’ prison population at a time when the state faces severe staffing challenges, deteriorating facilities and nearly $3 billion in deferred prison maintenance.
Supporters estimate Credit for Change would save Illinois taxpayers more than $1 billion over three years, allowing the state to invest more resources in priorities such as housing, education and healthcare. The proposal would also recognize research and lived experience showing that people convicted of serious offenses can and do change, and that many have low rates of recidivism and make meaningful contributions to their communities following release.
WHAT:
Credit for Change Community Forum
Key moments for press:
- 1 p.m. – Stakeholder panel ft. the reasons why Credit for Change makes sense from a financial, anti-violence, judicial discretion, and human level
- 2 p.m. – State elected officials give remarks
- 2:25 – 3 p.m. Town Hall to discuss questions and implementation
WHO:
- Illinois Rep. Justin Slaughter
- Illinois Rep. Barbara Hernandez
- Illinois Sen. Robert Peter
- Other Illinois legislators
- Inside Out Network
- The Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE)
- The Collective Liberation Coalition
- CBIP
- Impact for Equity
- Cook County Public Defender
- Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)
- Illinois Prison Project
- ACLU Illinois
- John Howard Association
- Restore Justice
- Cook County Office of the Justice Advisory Council
- Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice (ILARJ)
- Cabrini Green Legal Aid
- Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM)
- Women’s Justice Institute (WJI)
WHEN:
Friday, September 18
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
WHERE:
Women’s Justice Institute Reclamation Center
2150 S. Canalport Ave., Suite 4a-11, Chicago
WHY:
Credit for Change would modernize Illinois sentencing laws by incentivizing rehabilitation from the first day of a person’s prison sentence. Supporters say the policy would benefit people who live and work in prisons, crime survivors, families and communities while helping the Illinois Department of Corrections focus resources on its core mission of promoting positive change for people in custody.
Virtual attendance is available via Zoom.
