Get Connected
Search Public i
Public i
Get Connected
Archives
- May 2023
- April 2023
- February 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- September 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- November 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- September 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- September 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- January 2016
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- July 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- November 2008
- October 2008
- August 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- June 2005
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- March 2004
- February 2004
- December 2003
- November 2003
- October 2003
- September 2003
- August 2003
- June 2003
- May 2003
- November 2002
- October 2002
- April 2002
- March 2002
- February 2002
- December 2001
- November 2001
- October 2001
- September 2001
- August 2001
- July 2001
Category Archives: incarceration
Illinois Correctional System: What Is It Really?
The Public i is partnering with the Education Justice Project (EJP) to share writing completed by incarcerated students at the Danville Correctional Center. The EJP is a comprehensive college-in-prison program based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Through its educational … Continue reading
125 total views, 1 views today
Posted in Arts, Education, incarceration, Prison Arts, Prisoners, Section, Voices
Tagged education, incarcerated people, incarceration
Comments Off on Illinois Correctional System: What Is It Really?
Frustrations of Peer-to-Peer Education in Prisons
The Public i is partnering with the Education Justice Project (EJP) to share writing by incarcerated students at the Danville Correctional Center. The EJP is a comprehensive college-in-prison program based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Through its educational programming … Continue reading
163 total views, 1 views today
Posted in Arts, Education, incarceration, Prison Arts, Prisoners, Section, Voices
Tagged incarceration, prion arts, prison education
Comments Off on Frustrations of Peer-to-Peer Education in Prisons
No Such Thing As a “Safe” Jail: 31-Year-Old Woman Dies at Champaign County Jail
On October 13, 2022, Tillie Deitz, a mother of three young children, died in the Champaign County jail. As I found in my own review of publicly available documents, Deitz admitted to being a drug user upon entering the jail … Continue reading
159 total views, 1 views today
Posted in Drug policy, incarceration, Police
Tagged drug policy, incarceration, policing, prison health care
Comments Off on No Such Thing As a “Safe” Jail: 31-Year-Old Woman Dies at Champaign County Jail
The Assault on the Pretrial Fairness Act
Last month, News-Gazette columnist Jim Dey headlined “hysteria” over the provisions of the 2021 Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA), which will go into effect in January, including the end to cash bail. Predictably, but illogically, Dey located the hysteria on the side … Continue reading
671 total views, 1 views today
Posted in IL, incarceration, Justice, Politics
Tagged bail reform, Illinois justice, incarceration
Comments Off on The Assault on the Pretrial Fairness Act
Links
The Public i is partnering with the Education Justice Project (EJP) to share writing completed by incarcerated students at the Danville Correctional Center. The EJP is a comprehensive college-in-prison program based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Through its educational … Continue reading
176 total views
Posted in Arts, incarceration, Prison Arts, Prisoners
Tagged incarceration, Prison arts
Comments Off on Links
Donald Trump v. Shamar Betts
I, Shamar Betts, incited a riot through a Facebook post encouraging my people to join alongside the rest of the world in an attempt to express our feelings on the tragic death of George Floyd in May of 2020. Although … Continue reading
310 total views
Posted in African American, African Americans, BLM, Court System, incarceration, January 6 insurrection, Justice, Prisoners, Racism, Trump, Voices of Color, Youth
Tagged African American, BLM, incarceration, Justice, Trump
Comments Off on Donald Trump v. Shamar Betts
Reckless Law, Shameless Order: Behind the Scenes
One afternoon in April of 2021 Faranak Miraftab called me to ask if I was interested in holding an art workshop with formerly incarcerated artists in continuation of the “IDENSCITY,” a conceptual art space that I had been developing … Continue reading
348 total views
Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Arts, Immigrants, incarceration, Local Arts, Prison Arts, Prisoners, Voices, Voices of Color, Women
Tagged Immigrants, incarceration, local arts, Prison arts
Comments Off on Reckless Law, Shameless Order: Behind the Scenes
Two Stories from Statesville Prison
Saving Your Mind: Mental Health in the Age of Corona “This is some next-level shit. I thought I’d seen it all in my 20 years in prison,” said Murder (no real names used), my Quarantine Sanitation Specialist co-worker, as we … Continue reading
342 total views
Posted in Arts, incarceration, Local Arts, Prison Arts, Prisoners
Comments Off on Two Stories from Statesville Prison
Urbana-Champaign Books to Prisoners’ Mission to Bring Books (and Bibliophilia) Behind Bars
When it comes to helping people make a fresh start after incarceration and avoid returning to prison, few approaches are as effective and vital as education. Many people who wind up in the prison system do not have enough literacy … Continue reading
416 total views, 1 views today
Posted in Education, incarceration, Libraries, UC-IMC, UCIMC
Comments Off on Urbana-Champaign Books to Prisoners’ Mission to Bring Books (and Bibliophilia) Behind Bars
Shamar Betts Case Moves to Federal Appeals Court
On April 8, the case of Urbana resident Shamar Betts moved to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Betts was arrested in June, 2020 in the midst of a national crackdown on protests against the murder … Continue reading
732 total views
Posted in African Americans, BLM, incarceration, Justice, Racism
Comments Off on Shamar Betts Case Moves to Federal Appeals Court
“It’s a Money Grab”: Billions in COVID Relief Going to Fund Police and Prisons
If you’re from inner-city Birmingham, Alabama, there’s a “99-percent chance” you have a family member or friend who has been incarcerated, according to Veronica Johnson, deputy director for the Alabama Justice Initiative, which has been fighting against a proposal to … Continue reading
324 total views
Posted in African Americans, COVID-19, incarceration, Justice, Police, police accountability, Policing
Comments Off on “It’s a Money Grab”: Billions in COVID Relief Going to Fund Police and Prisons
Fines, Fees, and Escalating Bail Bonds: Champaign County Urgently Needs to Implement the Pretrial Fairness Act
The Champaign County Bailout Coalition (CCBC) is a grassroots organization that uses community donations to pay low bail amounts for incarcerated individuals who don’t have access to financial resources in their moment of crisis. Founded in 2018, CCBC now pays … Continue reading
639 total views
Posted in Champaign County, Court System, incarceration, Justice, Poverty
Tagged bail bond reform, Champaign County justice system, incareration
Comments Off on Fines, Fees, and Escalating Bail Bonds: Champaign County Urgently Needs to Implement the Pretrial Fairness Act
Taking the Band-Aid Off of Mass Incarceration
On a bad day, those of us seeking justice can find little to be hopeful about. The recent acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse again reminds us that the law is designed to protect white lives. Even after widespread protests and demonstrations … Continue reading
613 total views
Posted in African American, BLM, Champaign County, incarceration, Justice, Police brutality, Policing, Section, State Government
Comments Off on Taking the Band-Aid Off of Mass Incarceration
Hunger Strike, Ceiling Collapse, Lawsuit Spotlight Deteriorating Conditions at Logan Women’s Prison in Illinois
“I’ve been incarcerated since the age of 18, I grew up in the penal system,” shares Mishunda Davis. “I went from the Cook County jail to Dwight prison, to Lincoln, and I have never seen as many condemned buildings as … Continue reading
688 total views, 1 views today
Posted in incarceration, prison strikes, Women
Comments Off on Hunger Strike, Ceiling Collapse, Lawsuit Spotlight Deteriorating Conditions at Logan Women’s Prison in Illinois
Bail Systems as Wealth-Based Incarceration, or “No Money, No Justice”
The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits “excessive” bail, a prohibition that dates back to English common law, and is largely honored in the breach. In Champaign County Jail, on any given day this past winter, there were … Continue reading
Posted in Court System, IL, incarceration, Justice, National, Women
Comments Off on Bail Systems as Wealth-Based Incarceration, or “No Money, No Justice”
“It’s Scary Having a Fifteen-Year-Old Son”: Community Voices on Gun Violence in C-U
In the midst of the global pandemic, Champaign-Urbana has its own local epidemic: gun violence. As of July 20, police had received 95 reports in 2020 of shooting incidents in Champaign alone. This is more than double the total for … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Gun violence, incarceration, Poetry, Violence, Voices of Color
Comments Off on “It’s Scary Having a Fifteen-Year-Old Son”: Community Voices on Gun Violence in C-U
Disease and Denial in Prison
This letter was received from Stateville Prison in early April, reporting on conditions there during the COVID-19 crisis.q I am a student in Northwestern University’s Bachelors program. Like many other students, I also work, though in my case, both my … Continue reading
Posted in COVID-19, health care, incarceration
Comments Off on Disease and Denial in Prison
Blurs and Erases
We find ourselves at an interesting moment. Pivotal, in fact. As we collectively attempt to navigate uncharted waters, I am constantly thinking about how prepared I am. For a large portion of my life, lockdown was my reality. This in … Continue reading
929 total views
Posted in African Americans, COVID-19, incarceration
Comments Off on Blurs and Erases
Champaign County Bailout Coalition Plans Noise Demonstration Rally
The Public i has received this press release from the Champaign County Bailout Coalition. We have published the statement in its entirety below. To download a copy of this statement, click here. Champaign County Bailout Coalition Noise Demonstration Rally Demanding … Continue reading
Posted in COVID-19, health, incarceration
Tagged action, COVID-19, decarceration, jails, prisons
Comments Off on Champaign County Bailout Coalition Plans Noise Demonstration Rally
Champaign County Bailout Coalition Open Letter to County Officials Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic
The Champaign County Bailout Coalition (CCBC), a coalition of groups and individuals in focused on bailing out individuals in our Champaign County jails who cannot afford bail, has released an open letter which we have published below.
Posted in COVID-19, incarceration
Comments Off on Champaign County Bailout Coalition Open Letter to County Officials Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic