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The following is an archived video story. The text content of that video story is available below
for reference. The original video has been deleted and is no longer available.
Inmate Early Release Law Still Not Implemented
The inmate early release law is one step closer to reality. The Department of Corrections has been waiting for the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, or JCAR, to act. On Tuesday, JCAR found no objection to the regulation of the proposed administrative rules, meaning the legislative body won't stand in the way of the new sentence credit law.
An early release measure was in place a few years ago, only for Gov. Pat Quinn to suspend it. That's because it was discovered thousands of inmates were being let go from prison after serving only a few weeks. Now, another law is on the books. It gives good time credit for nonviolent offenders after serving at least 60 days. This program will provide an award of up to 180 days of sentence credit . The John Howard Association, a Chicago-based organization that works for corrections reform in Illinois prisons and jails, said the law is a good first step, considering they say prisons in Illinois are severely overcrowded.
"It makes a lot of sense the Quinn administration, the Department of Corrections, would make time to make sure they get this right," John Maki, from the JHA said. "At the same time, Illinois is facing unprecedented prison overcrowding. so there is a lot of reasons the Quinn administration needs to do it right, but quickly as possible. I think it's frustrating, they have not moved quicker."
"This law gives the Department the important discretion it did not have before to ensure that sentence credit is responsibly awarded only to eligible inmates who demonstrate positive behavior while incarcerated," the Department of Corrections said. "This will, in turn, create a secure system to incentivize good behavior."
"It's a law a vast majority of states have on their books," Maki said.
But not everyone is on board with the new sentence credit law. State Rep. Adam Brown voted against it.
"My top priority is public safety," Brown, a Republican from Decatur, told us in 2012. "The last thing I want to do is let criminals back on the street before their time is due. The judge sentences them for a reason. I believe they need to live up to those sentences."
The John Howard Association reports Illinois has 50,000 inmates for a prison system that can hold 34,000.
"This law was not designed to solve Illinois' prison overcrowding problem," Maki said.
"I think justice has to be served," Brown said.
Several correctional facilities have closed within the past several weeks. That includes the high-security Tamms prison in southern Illinois. Quinn closed them to save money.
The next steps for the early release law include the Department of Corrections reviewing inmate files to determine eligibility for sentence credit as the rules are being filed and finalized with the Illinois Secretary of State.
Inmate Early Release Law Still Not Implemented
The inmate early release law is one step closer to reality. The Department of Corrections has been waiting for the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, or JCAR, to act. On Tuesday, JCAR found no objection to the regulation of the proposed administrative rules, meaning the legislative body won't stand in the way of the new sentence credit law.
An early release measure was in place a few years ago, only for Gov. Pat Quinn to suspend it. That's because it was discovered thousands of inmates were being let go from prison after serving only a few weeks. Now, another law is on the books. It gives good time credit for nonviolent offenders after serving at least 60 days. This program will provide an award of up to 180 days of sentence credit . The John Howard Association, a Chicago-based organization that works for corrections reform in Illinois prisons and jails, said the law is a good first step, considering they say prisons in Illinois are severely overcrowded.
"It makes a lot of sense the Quinn administration, the Department of Corrections, would make time to make sure they get this right," John Maki, from the JHA said. "At the same time, Illinois is facing unprecedented prison overcrowding. so there is a lot of reasons the Quinn administration needs to do it right, but quickly as possible. I think it's frustrating, they have not moved quicker."
"This law gives the Department the important discretion it did not have before to ensure that sentence credit is responsibly awarded only to eligible inmates who demonstrate positive behavior while incarcerated," the Department of Corrections said. "This will, in turn, create a secure system to incentivize good behavior."
"It's a law a vast majority of states have on their books," Maki said.
But not everyone is on board with the new sentence credit law. State Rep. Adam Brown voted against it.
"My top priority is public safety," Brown, a Republican from Decatur, told us in 2012. "The last thing I want to do is let criminals back on the street before their time is due. The judge sentences them for a reason. I believe they need to live up to those sentences."
The John Howard Association reports Illinois has 50,000 inmates for a prison system that can hold 34,000.
"This law was not designed to solve Illinois' prison overcrowding problem," Maki said.
"I think justice has to be served," Brown said.
Several correctional facilities have closed within the past several weeks. That includes the high-security Tamms prison in southern Illinois. Quinn closed them to save money.
The next steps for the early release law include the Department of Corrections reviewing inmate files to determine eligibility for sentence credit as the rules are being filed and finalized with the Illinois Secretary of State.
