Support a bill which would increase employment, housing and educational opportunities for millions of Illinois residents with criminal records.

The Illinois General Assembly will convene for the “Lame Duck” session on Monday, January 9, 2017. Take action now and send an email to your state representatives to oppose legislation that will increase sentences for second time gun possession but not make our communities safer.

As of January 1, 2017 four new laws in Illinois are opening doors for people with past felony convictions to work in Illinois schools, park districts and health care facilities. Take action now and help to spread the word about these new employment laws.

CRS member churches came together to affirm our priorities for the “Platform for Renewal 2016-17,” present our annual congregational and partner awards, celebrate campaign victories, celebrate board members whose terms have ended, elect new board members and dialogue about our strategic vision. Father Larry Dowling of St. Agatha Catholic Church and Jaquie Algee of Trinity UCC co-chaired the assembly.

On July 29th Governor Rauner signed HB 4360 into law! Urge the Governor to sign the remaining bills to increase employment opportunities in schools for people with criminal records.

HB 4515, a bill to create health care job opportunities for people with criminal records, passed the Illinois House on Wednesday, June 29, 71-38! It will now be sent to the Governor.

Three bills have passed the Illinois General Assembly with significant bi-partisan support and will now be sent to the Governor for his signature.

Current Illinois law prohibits park districts from even considering qualified candidates with certain criminal convictions—regardless of how long ago those offenses occurred, the circumstances surrounding them or any other mitigating information. As a result, deserving and qualified applicants in our communities are unable to access jobs in their own communities.

At the April 12 rally in the rotunda of the Illinois State Capitol, hundreds of faith leaders joined CRS and put their faith into action. We marched, chanted, and prayed outside the Governor’s office demanding a fair budget now! We met with legislators and asked them to: increase job opportunities for people with criminal records; improve police accountability; and enact a fair tax and fair budget that protect the most vulnerable.

Thanks to you advocacy, four bills to increase jobs opportunities for men and women with criminal records are advancing with significant bi-partisan support through the Illinois General Assembly!

Join us as we demand action from our elected officials to stop police brutality, end violence, enact fair tax reform, and increase job opportunities!

The Reclaim Campaign will conduct an 8-week Court Watching Project from July 1 to August 25, 2015 to verify that reforms to bond court and pretrial services we won are being implemented.

Aldermen and Cook County Commissioners will soon make decisions to commit taxpayer funds and public land in the Illinois Medical District without any accountability from the developers to benefit Westside residents.  

We celebrate important victories as we continue to demand a moral budget that protects Illinois’ families and communities by choosing new revenue.

The Illinois General Assembly passed several bills to reform the Cook County Criminal Justice System. These victories build on our efforts to decrease the Cook County Jail population and divert the savings into community-based programs.

With strong bi-partisan support, the Illinois General Assembly passed HB 494 to increase job opportunities for people with records in schools. This victory culminates two years of work.

There’s good news from Springfield! Thanks to 18 months of hard work by FORCE leaders and our criminal justice coalition partners, a new bill is moving. SB 42 House Amendment 1 increases health care job opportunities for people with records. It passed out of the Health Care Licensing Committee yesterday, Monday, May 18, 2015.

Participate in a virtual Day of Faith at the Capitol

“I had worked at a nursing home for 14 years,” LaKesia testified. “I had good reviews, and the residents liked me. But, none of that mattered when a new owner took over. He fired me because of my background. I applied for a waiver, but my job is already gone.”

FORCE members and community leaders from partner organizations, working with a wide coalition of criminal justice advocates, led the campaign that resulted in the passage of HB 494 in the Illinois House of Representatives on April 23.