Category Archives: Prisoners

Interview with Marlon Mitchell from FirstFollowers

Posted on September 2017 by Carol Inskeep

.  The local group FirstFollowers is only two years old, but it is already making in impact in our community.  In this interview Marlon Mitchell talks with Carol Inskeep about their mission and the ambitious range of projects the group … Continue reading →

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Orange Crush: The Rise of Tactical Teams in Prison

Posted on February 2017 by Brian Dolinar

Since Ferguson, there has been a public outcry over militarized police who shoot down African Americans on the streets of our cities, but less is known beyond prison walls about guards who regularly brutalize those incarcerated. In Illinois, there is … Continue reading →

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Fighting Mass Incarceration Under Trump: New Strategies, New Alliance

Posted on February 2017 by James Kilgore

By James Kilgore Yusef Shakur is a Detroit community organizer who spent several years in Michigan state prisons. “The prison-industrial complex has found the right person to feed it,” he said in response to the election results. “Trump is of … Continue reading →

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Regulation of Prison Phone Calls Sweeps the Nation

Posted on November 2016 by Brian Dolinar

The Justice Department’s recent recommendation to end the use of private facilities for US citizens in federal prisons has been hailed as a victory by reformers, but the widespread privatization of everyday services in prison, like hygiene products, food, laundry … Continue reading →

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Statement on the Upcoming Ballot Referendum on “Public Facilities”

Posted on September 2016 by Public i

Statement delivered by Build Programs, Not Jails before the County Board on August 18, 2016.  Last week [on Tuesday, August 9, 2016] the County Board’s Committee of the Whole voted in favor of placing a referendum on the November ballot … Continue reading →

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IMC Helps Pass Prison Phone Justice Bill in Illinois

Posted on August 2016 by Brian Dolinar

State Representative Carol Ammons and Wandjell Harvey-Robinson attended the signing of HB6200 on August 22, 2016. The bill will cut in half the cost of phone calls from Illinois prisons. Thank you to Rep. Ammons and Wandjell for fighting for … Continue reading →

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Prison Boycott in Illinois Targets Costs of Incarceration

Posted on July 2016 by Brian Dolinar

During the month of April, at least 100 of those incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center, about an hour outside of Chicago, participated in a boycott of the overpriced phone calls, commissary goods, and vending machines. “Mass incarceration is a luxury … Continue reading →

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Jail is Not Drug Treatment

Posted on May 2016 by Brian Dolinar

If you were to believe those like Champaign County Board Chair Pattsi Petrie, who spoke recently at a meeting of Champaign County’s Racial Justice Task Force, those in the local jail are dangerous people that shouldn’t be let out on … Continue reading →

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Racism and Mass Incarceration in the US Heartland: Historical Roots of the New Jim Crow

Posted on May 2016 by James Kilgore

If asked what state had the highest rate of incarceration rate of black men, most people would likely cite somewhere in the old Confederacy, perhaps Mississippi or Louisiana. They would be about 1000 miles too far South. According to labor … Continue reading →

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Incarceration figures

Posted on May 2016 by Public i

Some figures compiled in the Coalition for Prisoners’ Rights Newsletter (April 2016). Reprinted with Permission. I. Number Incarcerated in U.S., 2014 1.5 million people at an annual per person cost of $80 billion–approximately $51,250 each. (A “free world” minimum wage of $15/hr … Continue reading →

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