Senate Bill 3368 will ensure former inmates leaving Illinois’ prisons have state-issued identification, which will assist their re-entry into their communities and make it easier for them to apply for jobs or housing.
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.
By investing in community-based programs that treat nonviolent offenders’ drug and mental health problems, Illinois can avoid more costly expenditures on incarceration.
Illinois jails book over 2.6 times the number of people they did in 1981, costing taxpayers money and keeping many people who have not yet been convicted of crimes behind bars.
Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...