CHICAGO (July 17, 2015) – On Thursday, President Barack Obama became the first sitting American president to visit a federal prison as part of his efforts to raise awareness about much-needed criminal justice reform. In today’s Chicago Sun-Times, the Illinois Policy Institute’s Bryant Jackson-Green writes about what Illinois can do to heed that call for criminal justice reform.
Bryant Jackson-Green is a criminal justice reform policy analyst at the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute. He is available for interviews on the need for criminal justice reform, why it’s not a red or blue issue, and what Illinois can do to enact reform. To book interviews, call or text 312-607-4977 or email nathaniel@illinoispolicy.org
Below is an excerpt from his Chicago Sun-Times article, published Friday, July 17 and headlined: “Packing Illinois prisons tears families apart”:
“On Thursday, President Barack Obama became the first sitting American president to visit a federal prison. His visit, intended to raise awareness of the need for criminal justice reform, was preceded earlier this week by a speech he delivered at NAACP’s annual convention echoing that same message.
“In his remarks, Obama cited a saddening statistic: “The U.S. is home to 5 percent of the world’s population, 25 percent of the world’s prisoners.” The incarceration rate in the U.S. is four times higher than authoritarian, anti-democratic nations like China.
“Too many people behind bars is a problem we know all too well in Illinois. The state has one of the top-ten largest correctional populations in the country, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. And it’s tearing apart families; 62 percent of prison inmates in Illinois have one or more children. These kids grow up in broken homes, scarred for life by an absent parent. They’re usually less successful in adulthood, as a result.
“These facts beg the question: Does each person in prison really belong there?
[…]
“It’s a question Gov. Bruce Rauner’s criminal justice reform commission will tackle as it seeks to lower Illinois’ prison population by 25 percent over the next decade….”
Bryant’s full article is available here: http://chicago.suntimes.com/
To book interviews, call or text 312-607-4977 or email nathaniel@illinoispolicy.org