The criminal justice commission’s recommendations work toward providing more opportunity for ex-offenders and reducing the state’s prison population.

Gov. Bruce Rauner’s pen writes a storybook ending for a single mom from Decatur.

On Aug. 22, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law a bill that prevents the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation from using irrelevant criminal convictions as a basis for denying licenses to applicants seeking to work as barbers, cosmetologists, hair braiders, estheticians, nail technicians, roofing business owners or funeral directors.

A poll of Illinois registered voters finds 76 percent want to remove occupational licensing barriers for ex-offenders.

It’s easy to get cynical about Illinois politics. Frustration is the norm in Springfield. Optimism is an emotional liability. But Lisa Creason doesn’t play by those rules. When it comes to politics in the Land of Lincoln, the single mom from Decatur just pulled off the biggest underdog story of 2016. She drove to Springfield...

HB 5973 would remove significant occupational-licensing barriers, thereby making it easier for former offenders to support themselves and their families – and making it less likely ex-offenders will commit crimes in the future.