Decarcerate Illinois

We call on Illinois lawmakers to take a realistic view of what community safety means and how to achieve it. Our current systems have been failing individuals, families, and communities for generations. The needs of survivors are not being met and the current system disrespects and harms accused and convicted people, making them and their families unsafe. We can no longer condone the harms of our current laws and allow them to continue to separate families and perpetuate harm for generations. Let's act!

From commitment to action! Please support bills that offer a truly progressive step forward in ending our reliance on carceral policies and toward proven policies for community safety for all.

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Fast Action: OPPONENT of HB2265 Mandatory Minimum

Mar 8, 2013 | by admin

√ CHECK. WE DID THIS BUT IT PASSED. SEE NEXT ACTION ITEM! Oppose HB2265 which increases the mandatory-minimum for weapon-related offenses. Do not let legislators pretend to address the problem of gun violence by sweeping more young people in prison. HB2265 would spike the prison population by thousands in just a few years, for no public safety gain.

√ CHECK. WE OPPOSED IT BUT IT PASSED. PLEASE SEE FOLLOW-UP ACTIONS!

PLEASE SIGN YOURSELF AS AN OPPONENT BY WEDS, MARCH 13 at 8:00AM

You no longer have to go to Springfield to oppose bad bills. Fill out this simple form to oppose this bill in committee. You must mark every field. Even if you are an individual, you still must fill out section II. If you do not represent an organization, say Not Applicable.

OPPOSE HB2265 — Mandatory Minimums Do Not Reduce Crime

HB2265 increases the mandatory-minimum for weapon-related offenses. This bill would spike the prison population by thousands, for no public safety gain. Do not let legislators pretend to address the problem of gun violence by sweeping more young people in prison.

This bill will cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in prison costs, money that should be used for proven methods of violence prevention.

The same neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence are also devastated by mass incarceration. The proposed law will make things worse for communities already decimated by poverty, foreclosures, poor schools and drug addiction.

We can’t incarcerate ourselves into safety. We can only make our communities safer by investing in jobs, drug treatment, schools, physical and mental health, and providing wrap-around programs and support both for victims of crime, and people returning for prisons.