HR0509 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Governor Rauner has called for a bold, pragmatic new approach to criminal justice, correctly noting that our prison system is significantly overcrowded and the corrections budget is far too large; and

WHEREAS, Governor Rauner has created the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform to deliberate on the most fundamental questions of criminal justice policy, with a mandate to provide recommendations to the General Assembly by December of 2015; and

WHEREAS, Governor Rauner's Executive Order establishing the Commission reaffirmed that, under Article I, Section 11 of the Illinois Constitution, sentencing statutes must embrace the twin goals of prescribing penalties commensurate with the seriousness of the offense and restoring offenders to useful citizenship; and

WHEREAS, The Commission's task is to reduce the State's prison population by 25% over the next 10 years, from the current 49,000 prisoners to a more manageable 35,000 prisoners; and

WHEREAS, The growth of the prison population to such unsustainable figures stems from several factors, including 2 policy decisions by previous General Assemblies: the abolition of parole in 1979 and the elimination in 1998 of the ability to earn good conduct credit in prison for a large number of offenses, which triggered far lengthier sentences for inmates than had previously been the case; and

WHEREAS, The lack of any sentence review by a parole board or a judge for inmates sentenced after 1979 has left thousands of prisoners who no longer pose any threat to public safety and are truly remorseful for their crimes stuck in prison at tremendous taxpayer cost; and

WHEREAS, The elimination of the ability to earn good conduct in prison for a large number of offenses effectively doubled the sentences for those offenses, creating a major cost driver for taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, In order to bring our prison capacity and the Illinois Department of Corrections budget under control, we as a State must find a safe, reasonable, and intelligent method to release some prisoners earlier than their original sentence length that considers their changed circumstances and remorse, as well as the impact on victims and communities, while allowing for healing and reconciliation whenever possible; and

WHEREAS, Illinois' large prison population forces difficult budgetary decisions, including the reduction of programs that facilitate rehabilitation; and

WHEREAS, Rehabilitation is possible for offenders, particularly youthful offenders and offenders who receive educational programming; and

WHEREAS, Without some sort of sentence review process implemented, Illinois will not be able to meet the Governor's visionary and pragmatic goal of reducing our prison population by 25% over the next 10 years; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Governor Rauner on his leadership and vision in criminal justice reform; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call upon the members of the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform to deliberate and develop a 21st century method of implementing a sentencing review regime that alleviates taxpayers of the burden of housing and feeding inmates that no longer pose any threat to public safety and are truly remorseful for their crimes; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the Governor and the members of the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform.