Dear Friends, The Illinois General Assembly recently wrapped up the fall Veto Session in Springfield on October 28. While the Veto session is officially just a short opportunity for the legislature to reconsider any measure that the Governor vetoed, it is also an opportunity to continue...
Thank you! Thank you to everyone who has made Believe in BELIEVE 2021 possible. Thank you to everyone who donated, volunteered, called friends, and shared the information with your networks. And thank you to everyone who made this event a reality. Thank you to our...
Our advocacy training series for people with incarcerated loved ones will resume in the fall. See below for recordings of some of our previous sessions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxK2V3anCxY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qpqChKzKWU ...
Olivia Cal, a founding member of Communities and Relatives of Illinois’ Incarcerated Children, passed away on October 27 following a brief illness. Olivia advocated for children and families caught in the criminal legal system for nearly 30 years. She visited Springfield several times a year...
Dear Friends, The 102nd General Assembly swore in new legislators on January 13, 2021 and began meeting that month. As of mid-June, legislators concluded business for this year’s regular session. During the session, members of the General Assembly introduced 7,004 bills. Of those bills, 664 passed through...
Soon, the law may prevent someone in Jason Foster’s position from being charged with murder. But Jason and those already serving extreme prison sentences won’t benefit. In January 2021, Illinois lawmakers passed extensive, multi-faceted legislation to address some of the most devastating, racially unjust practices that...
A note from Restore Justice Program Manager Wendell Robinson: When I came home in December 2018, I knew I wanted to be part of Restore Justice. I served 25 years in prison for something that happened when I was 17 years old. During my incarceration,...
Formerly Incarcerated Men Share Why They’re Getting Vaccinated Fred Weatherspon received his second and final dose of the COVID-19 in January. “I want to protect myself,” Fred said. “I knew, if given the opportunity, I would take it.” Fred didn’t experience the side effects some people do....
Dear Friends, It has been 10 months and counting since the onset of COVID-19 and statewide quarantine policies. Please know we think about you all the time, we care about the conditions inside prisons, and we are working as hard as we can to address some...
Incarcerated people are dying because some facilities within the Illinois Department of Corrections seem to be denying testing or treatment for COVID-19. While we welcome Illinois’s recent announcement that people who are incarcerated in three facilities will be regularly tested, we’re disturbed it took so many...
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