Criminal justice reform still has important work ahead

After decades of mass incarceration, criminal justice reform is finally garnering widespread support. During the most recent legislative session, positive steps were taken in Springfield to rein in juvenile transfers to adult courts, expand certificates of good conduct and reduce length of jail stays for nonviolent offenders in Cook County, among other changes.

A reform commission formed by Gov. Bruce Rauner has released promising recommendations to give judges more discretion in sentencing, divert low-level offenders, and enhance rehabilitative programing in prisons.

But while proponents of criminal justice reform in Illinois are off to a great start, there's still plenty of work ahead. Illinois' prisons remain overcrowded at nearly 143 percent capacity - among the highest rates in the country, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The Illinois Department of Corrections will cost taxpayers $1.4 billion in 2015 - to say nothing of the billions spent on police, courts and jail administration at all levels of government.

It took decades to build the system of mass incarceration Illinois has today - so it will also take time to right-size the state's criminal justice system. But with smart policy and legislative changes, Illinois can achieve the goal of a lower crime rate, a lower incarceration rate and smarter spending on criminal justice while improving public safety.

To enact these reforms, lawmakers must focus on making sentences fit the crime, relieving budgets by using cost-effective alternatives to incarceration wherever possible, and removing barriers that keep former offenders out of work.

First, Illinois can start with sentencing reform. Some sentences are longer than they should be, while other crimes, such as nonviolent drug offenses, would be better responded to with drug or mental health treatment than incarceration.

Illinois does have some programs in place, such as Adult Redeploy, which funds counties to create alternatives to prison for those struggling with drug addiction. These treatment programs only cost $4,400 a year, a stark contrast to the more than $22,000 a year that prisons cost per inmate. Instead of spending millions more each year increasing prison budgets, taxpayer money can be saved by investing more in drug and mental health treatment that actually addresses problems underlying crime. This doesn't just save money though - it will allow overcrowded state prisons to focus more resources on inmates who pose a threat to public safety.

Next, by investing in education and job training, Illinois can reduce the number of people who cycle through the justice system. Right now, 48 percent of people who leave an Illinois prison will return within three years. But groups like the Safer Foundation, a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides re-entry services, have been able to reduce their recidivism rates into the teens.

Private employers might be reluctant to hire ex-offenders - but government occupational licensing rules make the problem much worse. On the state level, there are over 118 professional and business licenses that either must or may be denied a license to someone with a felony record. Anyone who aspires to work as barber, cosmetologist, funeral home director, accountant, roofer - and many other jobs - can be turned away by the government well after they've already served their time and paid back their debt to society.

This makes little sense if you want to reduce crime and welfare dependency. Offenders should be held accountable and treated fairly for their crimes. But once their sentence is over, they need to support themselves and their families - and this can't happen if government makes it hard for them to find work. Fortunately, bills have been introduced this legislative session to ease occupational licensing restrictions - a step toward allowing more ex-offenders to find employment and piece their lives back together.

Not everyone will agree on every possible reform. But securing fair sentences for offenders and fair chances for those who served their time are goals we should all be behind. By continuing the push forward for reform, Illinois can save money, protect public safety, and build a fairer justice system for all.

Elizabeth Murphy is the Director of Coalitions and Outreach at the Coalition for Public Safety. Bryant Jackson-Green is the criminal justice policy analyst with the Illinois Policy Institute.