SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois houses an estimated 49,000 people in its prison system, and a recent report finds it's one of the most overcrowded systems in the nation. In fact, only Alabama’s prisons are more crowded. The Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics' most recent census of prisoners, found Illinois is operating at more than 170 percent of design capacity.

Alan Mills, attorney and executive director of the Uptown People's Law Center, pointed out that the Department of Corrections budget has decreased by more than 10 percent in the past few years. And he said the human impact is devastating, especially at maximum-security facilities.

"There is not enough capacity to provide programming for these folks," he said. "There are no more education programs; there aren't even any jobs for them to do. They simply sit there and stare at the walls, or a TV set if they are "lucky" - and I put that in big quotes - enough to have one. And these are not necessarily all people in segregation."

In response, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Corrections Tom Shaer countered that the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics' calculations do not include additional housing constructed since some of the prisons were originally built, or the practice of "double-celling." He characterized the prisons as "crowded but not overcrowded." While acknowledging that 16 women are housed in a gym, Shaer said,"There is little to no spare room, but we are able to house all our inmates safely and securely."

Shaer admitted there have been reductions in everything, education included, but it's not fair to say there are no education programs. "We have Adult Basic Education programs and G-E-D programs are offered," he said. "Some can earn an associate’s degree when community colleges come into the prison."

Regarding jobs, Shaer contended there are jobs available and performed by inmates at all facilities, including maximum-security prisons, but admitted "they haven’t kept pace with the increase in inmates who want the jobs."

Mills said the lack of resources to provide meaningful programs makes it more likely that people will commit new crimes when they are released. The attorney also charges that prison overcrowding results in people being kept in "segregation" longer than required. Single-cell "segregation" means prisoners are confined alone to their cell 22 hours a day, although the Department of Corrections said Illinois no longer practices the use of "solitary confinement."

Shaer didn't deny that lack of resources makes recidivism more likely. However, he rebutted the charge that segregation is prolonged because of housing shortages. "Anybody who earns their way out of segregation through good behavior is never denied for space reasons," he said.

The main cause of overcrowding, according to Mills, is the number of nonviolent prisoners, people with mental illness or substance-abuse disorders who he says would benefit more from treatment than from being locked in a cell.

"We're asking the people who work at the Department of Corrections to do an impossible job, which is to care for a huge number of both physically and mentally ill people with no money," he said. "And they don't do a very good job at it - but not because they're terrible doctors, but because they're asked to do the impossible."

A Pew Research Study found Illinois is 50th among states in the amount of money it spends delivering medical services in prisons.

Shaer contended that ranking is also not deserved, and that the Illinois Department of Corrections' amount is considerably greater than the report showed because it didn't include H-I-V medications, dialysis, outpatient visits to hospitals, and most state-employed medical personnel.

Mills recently testified about the effects of prison overcrowding before the Illinois Legislature's special Joint Committee on Criminal Justice Reform.

"Prison may have a role to play in society, in terms of protecting us from violent people who might otherwise harm others," he said. "But frankly, our prison system is full of thousands of people who don't meet that criteria. So, we've caused this problem by sending far too many people to prison."

The census is online at bjs.gov.



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A package to improve public safety is moving ahead in the California state Legislature - with a floor vote in the State Assembly on the first bill expected this week.

Assembly Bill 2215 puts into statute that police officers have the discretion to send people arrested for low-level offenses directly to supportive services.

Anthony DiMartino - government affairs director with the nonprofit Californians for Safety and Justice - said sometimes public safety is best served when people avoid arrest and instead get therapy, addiction support or help getting a job.

"We're also hoping to raise awareness that this is something officers can do, and then also encourage partnerships more with officers to look at what's in their community," said DiMartino, "as alternatives to jail booking."

A second bill would increase transparency and accountability on money sent to the counties as part of the Public Safety Realignment.

A third bill would require police officers, prosecuting attorneys and investigators to identify themselves any time they're interviewing a family member of someone killed or severely injured by police.

DiMartino said they also support AB 2499, which would ensure that survivors of violent crime and their family members can take unpaid time off work to address safety concerns and heal.

"We're hoping to broaden the scope a bit," said DiMartino, "and make it more clear that family members of victims are able to also tap into unpaid leave to support their family member that has been a victim."

A fifth bill would make it easier for justice-involved people and crime victims to speak freely during restorative justice programs - by making the communications inadmissible in other legal proceedings.

Missouri went through with its first execution of the year, as Brian Dorsey was put to death last night, just after 6 p.m. CT.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to stop Dorsey's execution. He was convicted of murdering his cousin Sarah Bonnie and her husband Ben nearly 20 years ago.

The advocacy group Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty launched several recent campaigns on Dorsey's behalf to spare his life.

Jenni Gerhauser, a cousin to both Dorsey and Sarah Bonnie, expressed belief in his redemption.

"Brian is more than the worst moment of his life," Gerhauser stressed. "There is so much more to him."

Gerhauser fondly remembered him as fun and charming from their visits during holidays. Dorsey's current lawyers said he was in a drug-induced psychosis when he killed the Bonnies in 2006 and his attorneys at the time had been offered money, preventing them from fighting the death penalty with his guilty plea deal.

Gov. Mike Parson confirmed Monday the state would move forward with Dorsey's death sentence, rejecting a separate request for clemency. More than 70 current and former corrections officers had urged the governor to commute Dorsey's sentence, arguing he had been rehabilitated.

Claudia Boyce, also a cousin in the family, said it should not be a decision for the state to make.

"You know, that's supposed to be God's decision, not ours," Boyce contended.

Dorsey received a lethal injection Tuesday evening. Lethal injection became an option for people on Missouri's death row in 1987, alongside lethal gas.


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Amid overcrowding and unsafe conditions in West Virginia jails, state lawmakers introduced bills that would allow judges to take a 'second look' at an individual's original sentence.

If a court determines they no longer pose a threat to the community, the person could be released, placed on supervision, or receive a shortened sentence.

Sara Whitaker - criminal legal policy analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy - said West Virginia is one of the few states that has seen its prison population balloon over the past decade, despite declining crime.

She noted that as of last month, more than 500 people in the state were in jail awaiting transfer to a prison.

"As a result, eight out of 10 of the regional jails in the state were beyond capacity," said Whitaker, "with hundreds of people assigned to sleeping on the floor."

The bills failed to advance this session, but Whitaker said advocates are hopeful lawmakers will consider them next year.

The state's jails remain among the deadliest in the country, with at least 91 people losing their lives while incarcerated in the past few years.

According to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, jail bills cost counties $45 million in 2022.

Nationwide, long sentences have led to growth in the number of older people behind bars.

Whitaker pointed out that 'Second Look' legislation could help the state avoid turning its prisons into nursing homes, and said the number of elderly people in prison has tripled in the past two decades.

"In 2019, West Virginia had to open a dementia unit in one of its prisons," said Whitaker. "There are hospice units across multiple prisons. And experts predict that this is just only going to get worse."

Whitaker added that 'Second Look' policies also offer a way to correct past racial injustice in the criminal legal system.

Black people incarcerated in West Virginia are four times more likely than white people to be serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole, and five times as likely to be serving a life-without-parole sentence.




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