Support the Restorative Sentencing Act
The Restorative Sentencing Act is a measure born out of the inspiration of a group of men confined at the Kewanee Life Skills Re-entry Center, located in Kewanee, Illinois. The measure started as a quest to abolish Truth-in-Sentencing (TIS) laws. It culminated in an effort to reward this group of individuals for participating in and completing programs designed to restore them to useful citizenship.
After arriving at the life skills re-entry center in October of 2018, I noticed that freedom of movement permitted individuals the opportunity to meet and gather for various reasons. Some of those reasons included the formation of think tanks for constructive purposes.
Kewanee Life Skills Re-Entry Center is one of three such facilities in the state of Illinois. These facilities are structured to provide incarcerated men and women, who meet the qualifications, the necessary tools to prepare for their impending reintegration to society. The Facilities provide a less restrictive environment and encourage responsible behavior.
Shortly after my arrival, I learned a group of men were gathering to discuss matters related to TIS laws. Since I had been a law clerk for many years, my curiosity was piqued. TIS laws became effective on June 19, 1998. They effectively restricted this group of incarcerated men and women from receiving sentence credit for education programming.
Additional sentence credit is awarded to other persons who satisfactorily complete an assigned program, but not for individuals sentenced under TIS laws. Those programs include educational, vocational, substance abuse, behavior modification, life skills courses, re-entry planning and correctional industry assignments designed to restore them to useful citizenship.
Despite the efforts of those sentenced under TIS laws to rehabilitate themselves, they are excluded from this legislative grace—a practice that seems to be counterproductive to the concept of rehabilitation.
I began meeting with the group and learned their effort to abolish TIS laws may have been too lofty a goal to surmount. As a former police officer, I knew there was a possibility of staunch opposition and that the measure could potentially fail if it ever got off the ground.
Based on the notion of restorative justice, a move that seems to be sweeping the nation’s criminal justice system, I coined the title “Restorative Sentencing Act.” I then proposed to the men the concept of a softer approach rather than taking on such an ambitious goal.
Photo by Julie B. Cooper, MPA, KPWHRI research project manager
Restorative justice is a concept I learned of by reading The New Jim Crow written by Michelle Alexander. This esteemed scholar and activist characterized “mass incarceration” as “The New Jim Crow” and concluded that one way to address this problem is by the creation of laws that serve to reduce the prison population.
I thought, consistent with restorative justice efforts, what better way to address this TIS problem than by creating legislation that would reward all or most individuals who are incarcerated for being constructive and satisfactorily completing programs designed to restore them to useful citizenship? After all, who could balk at the sincere efforts of a convicted person who, instead of being a perpetual problem for the Department of Corrections, elected to rehabilitate themselves, effectively reducing their chance to recidivate?
I pitched this idea to the group. After making the case, I put it to vote. The outcome was unanimous to adopt the strategy. I was off to the races. Then I contacted an associate at the Community Renewal Society in Chicago. The organization elected to champion the measure. Through the efforts of the Community Renewal Society, SB 2054/HB 2620, sponsored by Sen. Christopher Belt and Rep. Justin Slaughter, was created.
Introduced in February of 2019, SB 2054 gained momentum in 2020 during the 102nd General Assembly, just before the COVID-19 crisis. Now that lawmakers are planning to return to Springfield soon, we are calling on members of the General Assembly to pass Truth-In-Sentencing reform. Please urge your legislators to support the Restorative Sentencing Act.
Prisons are overcrowded and there are policy efforts across the state of Illinois to create ways to reduce that population safely and effectively. What better way to accomplish that goal than to invest in the most productive demographic of incarcerated persons—students. Not only will this contribute to the reduction of taxpayer dollars, but it will provide a safe resolution to decrease incarceration.
When an incarcerated person makes the conscious decision to engage in educational programs on the road to rehabilitation, he or she does so knowing the struggle will be difficult. By doing so, they increase the chances of becoming productive members of society.
It is for these reasons we urge you to support the Restorative Sentencing Act, effectively rewarding this group of individuals in the same manner as every other individual confined in the Department of Corrections.
By Gregory L. Chambers, Criminal Justice Reform Advocate
Gregory L. Chambers is a leader of Community Renewal Society’s Restoring Rights and Justice Reform team championing the Restorative Sentencing Act. As a former law enforcement officer for the City of Chicago and a formerly incarcerated person, he has pledged to spend his remaining years pursuing the goals of justice as it relates to criminal justice reform, police reform, and all interests related to social justice.