A thorough look here at how overworked public defenders are across the state - and why a new public defender system was needed. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/29/n...

Last night, our own Director of Criminal Legal System Loren Jones was featured on a WTTW - Chicago PBS #ChicagoTonight panel discussing racial profiling and the implications of the recent Supreme Court decision in Noem v. Perdomo. www.youtube.com/live/UzeV5fo...

Meet the people stopping gun violence in Chicago on License to Operate, a new podcast available now posting on YouTube. In the first episode, my cohost Kanoya Ali and I talk about our two different worlds and what has brought us to the work. www.youtube.com/@LicenseToOp...

From this week's ILJP news roundup of legal system reform stories: The Chicago Reporter explores use of the Joe Coleman Act, which created a pathway for people with complex medical needs to be released from Illinois prisons. Sign up for ILJP's weekly roundup here: lnkd.in/g2Q72mHA

Illinois is defending the Pretrial Fairness Act. We will not bow down to Trump. Read our statement on the President's attack on the end of money bail in Illinois: endmoneybond.org/2025/08/25/i...

How youth are changing the conversation on gun violence and risks. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/07/p...

Gov. Pritzker acted on a bunch of bills Friday, including this important one: Description: Creates the FAIR Act to establish the Office of State Public Defender and an independent State Public Defender Commission. Action: Signed Learn more about what the FAIR Act does here: fairactil.org

Crime is down in Chicago. If you like context and want to understand what true public safety demands, give a listen to to this @sashaannsimons.bsky.social report. www.wbez.org/reset-with-s...

Formerly incarcerated people live in every county in Illinois. FirstFollowers welcomes them back to Champaign. Thoughtful report by @ilpublicmedia.bsky.social about their work, with focus how gardening is used to teach, feed and uplift. ipmnewsroom.org/a-dialogue-o...

ILJP welcomes Arthur Haynes to our team as Program Director. Arthur previously served as assistant corporation counsel in the Chicago Law Dept, coordinating mandated policing reforms. We are grateful for the expertise Arthur brings to the important work of legal system reform in Illinois.

With the Illinois General Assembly session winding down @tonia.thetriibe.com outlines five key legal system reform issues that are still pending. Details on Home for Good and the FAIR Act by @thedou13.bsky.social @sharonemitchelljr.bsky.social

For every $1 spent on the Home for Good program, taxpayers save $6. Communities will be safer, and the money the state saves can be directed to education, job creation, reduced taxes or the environment. To tell legislators you support this plan for public safety: homeforgoodillinois.com/letters/

The Home for Good Coalition needs your support now. An investment of $47 million in housing and services will save $190 million over three years and build safer and stronger communities. To tell your lawmaker you support HB3162/SB2403, send a letter here: homeforgoodillinois.com/letters/

45% of people leaving prisons in Illinois are unemployed for at least three years, adding to existing housing barriers. There is a solution pending in the General Assembly: Home for Good (HB3162/SB2403). To ask your legislator for support, click here: homeforgoodillinois.com/letters/

60% of people getting support from community violence intervention (CVI) groups report housing needs. Home for Good (HB3162/SB2403) addresses that with expanded access to housing. Ask your lawmaker to support the legislation here: homeforgoodillinois.com/letters/

"Clients and community members lose confidence in public defenders who are employed at the mercy of the very courts that seek to punish them." The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers speaks out in support of the FAIR Act in the Sun-Times! chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/...

Housing access is fundamental to individual and community safety. And it supports statewide economic growth. To tell your lawmaker you support Home for Good, follow instructions here: homeforgoodillinois.com/letters/

Expanding housing opportunities is vital to state economic growth and for Illinois families. And there is a way to do it right now. @metroplanning.bsky.social #homeforgood bit.ly/3ZpiRch

Formerly incarcerated people live in every Illinois county. Home for Good (HB3162 and SB2403) expands housing/wraparound supports for people who face barriers because of a background. Housing brings stability and stability creates safety. Learn more: homeforgoodillinois.com. #homeforgoodillinois

ILJP Director @thedou13.bsky.social tells lawmakers Home for Good (HB3162/SB2403) fills “massive hole” in state’s human services system by expanding housing access for people with criminal records. Details below in @chicagotribune.com Learn more at homeforgoodillinois.com #homeforgoodillinois.com

Thank you to @turiryder.bsky.social for having ILJP Director Ahmadou Dramé @thedou13.bsky.social on the show to speak about the struggle of reentry and the Home for Good (homeforgoodillinois.com) legislation pending in Springfield. The conversation starts at 27:03. omny.fm/shows/joan-e...

Legislation (IL HB3162) supported by Home for Good Coalition is up Thursday in Appropriations-Health and Human Services Cmte. File slip to support effort to expand housing access for people facing barriers: bit.ly/4d2FEAd Select “proponent” and “record of appearance only" homeforgoodillinois.com

Housing is the foundation for individual stability and community safety. Learn more about legislation that would expand housing to people who face significant barriers because of criminal records. @blairpaddock.bsky.social #homeforgoodillinois news.wttw.com/2025/05/02/i...

Advocates were in Springfield Tuesday working to pass the Home for Good legislation, which will expand housing access for people leaving prison and those enrolled or working in state CVI programs. #homeforgoodillinois You can get involved in the effort here: homeforgoodillinois.com/letters/

There is joy in advocacy. Check out the Home for Good coalition members in Springfield, fighting to expand housing opportunities for people who face barriers because of their criminal records. #homeforgoodillinois homeforgoodillinois.com

The Home for Good Coalition is on the way to Springfield to advocate: Formerly incarcerated people and those at risk of violence face serious housing barriers. It's time for a comprehensive solution. Home for Good (HB3162 and SB2403) can make it happen. #homeforgoodillinois. homeforgoodillinois.com

The Home for Good Coalition will be at the State Capitol on April 29 to advocate for the Home for Good program, a public investment to make sure people with criminal records have access to housing. Read more about why this is needed here. www.illinoistimes.com/news-opinion... #homeforgoodillinois

Cook County is celebrating the 6th anniversary of the Just Housing Amendment’s passage, an ordinance that prohibits housing discrimination of residents who have an arrest or conviction record. A panel exploring the history of the amendment and why this issue still matters is underway now.

There is not enough housing for people living in poverty in Illinois. Those with criminal records face fierce discrimination accessing it. Learn more about what can be done to help.

The 2021 SAFE-T Act was one of the most sweeping pieces of legal system reform in Illinois. A workgroup has examined implementation of the law, and the report is below. Thank you to all those who participated and to @joycefdn.bsky.social for supporting the work. iljp.org/wp-content/u...

The FAIR Act just passed the Illinois House of Representatives and now heads to the Senate. The legislation aims to provide oversight, expand resources, and establish standards to ensure that every indigent person accused of a crime is zealously represented by their public defender. fairactil.org

A Second Chance month event: On April 22 Cook County Board President @tonipreckwinkle.bsky.social , CAFHA Senior Housing Justice Organizer Maria Moon and ILJP Director Ahmadou Dramé will discuss the Just Housing Amendment and the continued work to remove housing barriers.

Access to affordable housing in Illinois is a crisis that is particularly devastating and damaging to people with criminal records, including those returning from prison. The Home for Good Coalition is in Springfield today advocating for a solution. homeforgoodillinois.com

Maria Garza’s life changed dramatically the day she was offered a home with $300-a-month rent. There’s a new push in Illinois to expand housing opportunities for people like Maria when they leave prison. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/28/o...

More than 200 people, including legislators & Public Defenders from across the state, have gathered at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law for a summit on the future of Public Defense in Illinois.

The Statewide Summit on the Future of Public Defense at Northwestern University is underway. Panel 1 closes with agreement (and applause) that strong public defense will help make communities safer.

Legislation to improve Illinois public defense passed out of committee this week in Springfield. Learn more about the FAIR Act here. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/19/b...

Today marks 62 years since Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court case that established the right to counsel in the US. Illinois hasn't updated our laws around public defense since 1949, 14 years before Gideon. That's why we're supporting the FAIR Act, learn more: endmoneybond.org/2025/03/18/6...