This legislative session, state lawmakers will consider a critical bill that would advance justice, equity and liberation for thousands of Illinoisans returning from incarceration each year. HB 1115 proposes a ban on the use of electronic monitoring for individuals who have served their full prison term. Under current Illinois policy, re-entering residents who have completed an entire sentence are routinely subjected to extended terms of house arrest under electronic monitoring, as determined by extrajudicial prison review boards.
The pervasive use of electronic monitoring in Illinois has had devastating consequences for thousands of individuals returning from incarceration. Under the extreme restrictions imposed by remotely surveilled house arrest, re-entering Illinoisans often lack the flexibility required to secure employment, pursue educational goals, access medical care, and reestablish relationships with community support systems. Moreover, electronic monitoring perpetuates the unjust and racially targeted cycle of re-incarceration. By facilitating overly stringent conditions of community based supervision, electronic monitoring all but ensures that hundreds of Illinoisans will return to prison for mere technical parole violations each year.
The practice of community based electronic monitoring further entrenches Illinois’ pernicious investment in the for-profit carceral industry. As states across the country enact legislation to reverse mass incarceration, private prison corporations have adapted their business models to monetize community based supervision services as an alternate source of revenue. In order to boost profits, the industry has aggressively lobbied local policymakers to adopt unnecessary and inhumane post release corrections practices, including electronic monitoring. As a result, the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) directs millions of public dollars each year towards harmful privatized electronic monitoring services.
Your voice is crucial to advancing the fight for racial equity, opportunity and justice. Advocate for the change you want to see in your city, state and beyond by visiting WCRJ’s Racial Justice Online Action Center and demanding policy action of your elected officials now.
This legislative session, Illinois lawmakers will vote on a critical bill that proposes urgently needed reform of the state's overly punitive felony theft law. By increasing the property value threshold for felony theft from $500 to $2000, HB 1614 would take a significant step towards reversing mass incarceration in Illinois. In order to advance this important piece of legislation, WCRJ is calling on our allies and supporters to take action.
Illinois’ overly punitive property theft laws have played a foundational role in driving the state’s inhumane and racially targeted practice of mass incarceration. The $500 property value baseline that triggers a felony theft charge in Illinois falls well below national norms, with 29 states setting thresholds at least twice as high. This excessively punitive policy results in the charging and sentencing of thousands of Illinoisans -- often accused of minor, poverty-based infractions -- each year. The overbroad classification of felony theft also exacerbates racial disparities in Illinois’ criminal justice system. In incidents of alleged property theft, law enforcement exercise wide discretion over which cases to charge, resulting in staggering racialized imbalances in the state’s felony theft conviction rates.
In the wake of a decades-long decline in local crime rates, 35 states have raised the felony theft threshold. Despite the baseline increase, these states witnessed a continued reduction in rates of property theft, confirming that overly punitive theft laws have no positive impact on public safety. To foster communities that are truly safe, lawmakers must end the state’s overreliance on prisons and aggressive law enforcement, which perpetuate racialized structural inequity and oppression.
Your voice is crucial to advancing the fight for racial equity, opportunity and justice. Advocate for the change you want to see in your city, state and beyond by visiting WCRJ’s Racial Justice Online Action Center and demanding policy action of your elected officials now.
This week in Springfield, members of the Illinois Senate will consider an important bill that aims to protect workers against racial discrimination. If enacted, SB 1485 would require the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) to establish a telephone hotline and online portal for workers impacted by racial discrimination and harassment to anonymously report and pursue complaints. In order to advance this critical piece of legislation, WCRJ is calling on our allies and supporters to take action.
In Illinois, the prevalence of racialized discrimination in the workplace has had devastating consequences for workers of color. The state's Black unemployment levels have remained the highest in the nation since 2016, with Black constituents facing joblessness at more than twice Illinois' average rate. When controlling for a wide range of employment factors, these staggering racialized disparities persist, establishing that elevated rates of Black unemployment are the direct result of widespread hiring discrimination. Moreover, in recent years, race-based wage discrimination in Illinois has risen to levels not seen in 40 years, with Black workers currently earning only 71% of white workers' take-home pay.
The overwhelming majority of labor discrimination and harassment cases go unreported, often due to a fear of retaliation or job loss. Illinois workers currently lack accessible resources to confidentially pursue workplace complaints. SB 1485 would offer employees a low threshold entry point, either online on by telephone, to anonymously report racial discrimination and harassment.
Your voice is crucial to advancing the fight for racial equity, opportunity and justice. Advocate for the change you want to see in your city, state and beyond by visiting WCRJ’s Racial Justice Online Action Center and demanding policy action of your elected officials now.