Illinois Department of Corrections

The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) oversees the state’s correctional facilities and has responsibility for parole supervision of those leaving its custody. The agency is currently engaged with the Illinois Reentry Council, a broad group of system stakeholders, advocates, and people with lived experience of prisons, launched with Foundation support to create a model reentry system for the state. Begun as an emergency response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Reentry Council seeks to lay a permanent basis for a more humane and equitable system of reentry support in Illinois, which will help people coming out of jails and prisons to reintegrate successfully into their communities through a comprehensive continuum of supports. This grant supports IDOC’s continued engagement with the Reentry Council, and provides the agency with flexibility to make a range of practical improvements in the way it supports the successful reentry of people leaving its custody, particularly in the area of increasing employment opportunities. This work contributes to the overall goal of building a sustainable statewide system that eliminates barriers to successful reentry through cross-agency collaboration and holistic treatment of individuals impacted by the criminal justice system.

To support the work of the Governor's Task Force on Prison Crowding.