Our Impact

John Howard Association Testimony on the Illinois Department of Corrections FY25 Proposed Budget given to the Illinois State Senate Appropriations - Public Safety and Infrastructure Committee (April 17, 2024)

On April 15, 2024 the Coalition to Decarcerate Illinois (of which JHA is a part) gathered outside of the Environmental Protection Agency to hold a press conference and deliver a legal petition to address the critical issue of unsafe drinking water and aging infrastructure that incarcerated community members have been forced to deal with for the past decades.

John Howard Association Testimony on the Illinois Department of Corrections FY25 Proposed Budget given to the Illinois House of Representatives Appropriations—Public Safety Committee (March 20, 2024)

Today’s announcement by Governor Pritzker to shutter Logan and Stateville Correctional Centers in order to rebuild them recognizes that these prisons are decrepit, unsafe, and inhumane. However, this announcement does not address the fact that the Illinois prisons are currently well under capacity, with close to 12,000 excess prison beds throughout the system; we can and should also permanently close some of our worst prisons. (March 15, 2024)

John Howard Association Testimony on the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice FY25 Proposed Budget to the Illinois House of Representatives Appropriations—Public Safety Committee (March 13, 2024)

Throughout 2023 JHA received reports from people incarcerated in IDOC about lack of out-of-cell time and excessive lockdowns, which they in part attribute to low staffing levels. The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) reports they continue to struggle with high levels of staff vacancies; in July, they reported nearly a third of correctional officer positions were vacant. These numbers have real consequences that make living and working inside of prisons more difficult and less safe for everyone. (Jan. 24, 2024)

The Correctional Association of New York, John Howard Association, and Pennsylvania Prison Society applaud the first steps of Arizona Oversight Commission and echo the call for more resources to realize and sustain critical oversight. The Commission sought support From IL, NY & PA Prison Oversight Organizations (January 16, 2024)

The program announced today by Secretary of State Giannoulias and Sheriff Dart is an important advancement - we commend them for creating a program that will get more state IDs into the hands of people who need this assistance in order to move forward productively. (December 11, 2023)

An infrastructure assessment of all the secure IDOC facilities was recently made public. The report titled Facility Master Plan was authored by the consulting group CGL. JHA is dismayed but unsurprised by its findings, which in part address our repeated call for an independent assessment of living and work conditions in IDOC and our demands that this information be made public. (August 2023)

“Dear Governor Pritzker, On behalf of the John Howard Association of Illinois, I write to respectfully request you sign Senate Bill 2197, which aims to bolster the protection of our youth within county juvenile detention centers. This bill proposes the expansion of the existing Office of the Independent Juvenile Ombudsman's duties to include the 16 county juvenile detention centers across our state.” (June 2023)