Few will argue that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidency has changed how Black candidates will be perceived for the foreseeable futureûa change that was overdue. Another Illinois legislator, U.S. Rep. Dann
Thursday, the West Side congressman stood beside President George W. Bush as Bush signed the Second Chance Act. This new legislation will pour more than $160 billion into programs across the country to ease ex-offenders’ re-entry into our communities.
Not only have Davis’ constituents been incarcerated at disproportionate numbers compared to residents in predominantly white congressional districts, but Blacks across the country have had to share this distinction. The second chance legislation takes a holistic approach to facilitating the ex-con’s return to his or her community.
Now, instead of a fivedollar bill, a good luck wish and a pat on the back, the once imprisoned men and women will return home to agencies equipped to help them with vocational or education choices, mentoring and substance abuse counseling. Overcoming those obstacles is likely to reduce the revolving door of prison. In the number of released prisoners or the dollar amounts, re-entry is not a small issue.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics identified nearly 650,000 people released from federal or state prisons annually. Another 10 million people per year go back into the community after being released from county jails and detention facilities. Expectations from corrections experts are that more than 66 percent of those released will wind up re-incarcerated for a felony or serious misdemeanor within three years.
The services the Second Chance Act will fund should seriously reduce that percentage. Davis, who spent five years researching, refining and crafting this bill, which almost immediately drew bi-partisan support, should be credited with putting in motion the element most likely to bring the single largest drop in crime in decades.
This is not some “it might work if” legislation, but rather a well thought out, overdue answer to address the burgeoning crime issue in communities across the countryûnot just in urban America. The timing of the Second Chance Act is critical due to the slumping economy and the monies already being poured into corrections.
The $160 billion-plus compares $59.6 billion spent on corrections in 2002. The BJS noted that is a six-fold increase compared to the $9 billion spent in 1982. If the second chance legislation hadn’t been locked in now, we likely would have heard governmental officials crying poor, thereby promulgating the revolving door corrections system which we all know hasn’t worked.
______ Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
About Post Author
