Illinois Prison Project

The Illinois Prison Project is an organization of activists and advocates working to end the problem of mass incarceration in Illinois. Their mission is to address the numerous factors which contribute to over-incarceration and the cycle of recidivism, including: systemic racism, excessive sentencing, and lack of access to parole or sentence review. The organization believes that correctional facilities are devoid of compassion and do not facilitate the personal growth that most people need to disrupt the cycle of incarceration. They work to support justice-impacted people through three branches: educational opportunities, advocacy work and direct representation for incarcerated individuals. Legal experts can both represent individuals and assist the Department of Corrections with training to improve compassion and rehabilitation efforts inside facilities. Illinois Prison Project also educates the community about issues that perpetuate incarceration and the barriers that formerly incarcerated people face. Their advocacy work focuses on redistributing funds away from police departments and toward meaningful restorative justice organizations based in the community.