Category Archives: incarceration

“It’s a Money Grab”: Billions in COVID Relief Going to Fund Police and Prisons

Posted on 05/12/2022 by Brian Dolinar

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 →

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Fines, Fees, and Escalating Bail Bonds: Champaign County Urgently Needs to Implement the Pretrial Fairness Act

Posted on 03/31/2022 by Chelsea Birchmier and Phillip Ernstmeyer

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 →

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Taking the Band-Aid Off of Mass Incarceration

Posted on 02/10/2022 by Brian Dolinar

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 →

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Hunger Strike, Ceiling Collapse, Lawsuit Spotlight Deteriorating Conditions at Logan Women’s Prison in Illinois

Posted on 11/15/2021 by Brian Dolinar and Panagioti Tsolkas

“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 →

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Bail Systems as Wealth-Based Incarceration, or “No Money, No Justice”

Posted on 04/04/2021 by Carol Skalnik Leff

  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 →

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“It’s Scary Having a Fifteen-Year-Old Son”: Community Voices on Gun Violence in C-U

Posted on 12/06/2020 by FirstFollowers

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 →

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Disease and Denial in Prison

Posted on 07/17/2020 by Anthony Ehlers

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 →

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Blurs and Erases

Posted on 06/05/2020 by Johnny Page

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 →

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Champaign County Bailout Coalition Plans Noise Demonstration Rally

Posted on 05/01/2020 by Nick Goodell

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 →

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Champaign County Bailout Coalition Open Letter to County Officials Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted on 04/09/2020 by Nick Goodell

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.

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UC Books to Prisoners Ships Thousands of Books in Mega-Packing Day

Posted on 04/01/2020 by Nick Goodell

On Monday March 16, with the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States beginning to skyrocket, many who were able were already taking steps to work remotely and shelter in place. But down in the basement of the Independent … Continue reading →

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Criminal Justice Reform to Return Dignity to Community

Posted on 03/18/2020 by Carol Ammons

This is an edited version of the statement by 103rd District Illinois State Representative Carol Ammons made to the Champaign County Board on November 21, 2019. For more on criminal justice reform ideas, see http://www.staterepcarolammons.com/. Good evening, members of the … Continue reading →

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The Trump Administration Just Opened a New Immigrant Prison in Rural Michigan

Posted on 03/18/2020 by Brian Dolinar

From his office at the Cristo Rey Church in Lansing, Michigan, Oscar Castañeda runs a campaign against a new federal immigrant prison, part of President Donald Trump’s escalation of immigration enforcement. In May, 2019, the Trump administration awarded a ten-year, … Continue reading →

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FirstSteps Community House

Posted on 09/20/2019 by James Kilgore

“Our community needs a transitional house … we’re gonna reach out and help people get employment, help them bond back with their families and be able to give back to the community.” — Casandis Hunt, peer mentor at FirstFollowers, talking … Continue reading →

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Incarcerated Activists Raise the Bar on Parole

Posted on 06/13/2019 by Joseph Dole and Shari Stone-Mediatore

Over-incarceration in this country takes many forms. One form that is particularly egregious in Illinois is that of keeping people imprisoned for years, or even decades, beyond the time that they pose any risk to public safety—and even beyond their … Continue reading →

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Opposition to the Proposed ICE Dwight Detention Center Continues.

Posted on 06/13/2019 by Janice Jayes

Efforts to halt the construction of a 1200-bed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Dwight, Illinois continue at both the state and local level. The proposed facility would be built and operated by the Virginia-based, for-profit prison company … Continue reading →

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The value of community

Posted on 05/09/2019 by Molly Zupan

By Molly Zupan, representing UIUC Urban Planning 478 Spring 2019 students This spring semester, a group of urban planning and architecture students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have collaborated on creating visual, physical and written representations of the … Continue reading →

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Courtwatch Corner: By Reason of Insanity

Posted on 04/12/2019 by Isra Rahman

              On January 4, 2019, Dominique Smith was sentenced to 25 years in prison for robbing someone of a frozen pizza and six dollars at gunpoint, but no one was hurt. The next day, … Continue reading →

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Securitization in the Heartland: For-Profit Immigration Detention

Posted on 04/12/2019 by Janice Jayes

Dwight, IL, Population 4200. On March 11 the Dwight Village Board voted to move forward with the construction of a privately owned $20 million ICE detention facility on the edge of the town, which is 75 miles north of Champaign-Urbana. … Continue reading →

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Illinois Prison Phone Rates Are Lowest Following Grassroots Activism

Posted on 04/12/2019 by Brian Dolinar

“There were a lot of times my sons tried calling me,” recalled Annette Taylor, who regularly receives calls from her two sons in prison, “but there was no money on the account.” Those were some of the “hardest calls,” she … Continue reading →

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