HB 1115-The Mandatory Supervised Release Reentry Freedom Act Moves to the Illinois Senate
HB 1115-The Mandatory Supervised Release Reentry Freedom Act moved forward to passage last week by being approved by the state’s lower house by a vote of 62-47. This bill would eliminate the use of electronic monitoring for people who have completed their state prison sentences and are not required by statute to be on a monitor—ending the practice of imposing electronic house arrest for people who have already done their prison time and want to move on with their lives. No state has ever taken a direct action like this to eliminate an electronic monitoring program. At any given moment about 2,000 people are on monitors as a result of discretionary decisions by authorities. The Department of Corrections has been unable to provide any evidence that Electronic Monitoring has any positive impact. On the other hand, returning citizens who have been on Electronic Monitoring report that it is a major impediment to re-integrating into society, making it harder for them to find employment, find housing, and reconnect with their families.
Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers are playing a significant role in this effort. The Criminal Justice Advisory of Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers thank those who are leading this fight including the bill’s chief sponsor, Rep. Carol Ammons, and the members of the Illinois Coalition to Challenge Electronic Monitoring, including Sarah Staudt, our Senior Policy Analyst and Staff to the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee of Chicago Appleseed and the Council, Patrice James of the Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, and Professor James Kilgore, Co-Director, FirstFollowers Reentry Program, Center for African Studies, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). The Illinois Senate will take up the bill when it returns from recess.