The 2023 IRC Annual Report celebrates and lifts up the progress achieved throughout 2023 by members of the Illinois Reentry Council.
The IRC includes more than 100 members throughout Illinois who convene regularly to research and advocate for improved reentry. Those who have been incarcerated are represented throughout the council, which includes housing experts, criminal legal system reform advocates, elected and appointed people with authority to change the operation of existing systems, service providers, researchers, and philanthropists.
The IRC is committed to developing and supporting holistic and effective reentry processes and a network of reentry support and services for people all people with arrest and conviction records, especially those leaving incarceration.
The reentry process is complex and requires addressing major issues on multiple fronts. Individuals leaving incarceration should not be tasked with navigating bureaucratic systems with burdensome requirements that create barriers. The Council advocates for policy and structural changes that will address these obstacles and works to direct resources to community-based organizations that offer holistic reentry supports.
“Reentry” is the journey individuals begin after they come into contact with the criminal legal system, including through arrest, criminal charges or incarceration in either jail or prison. To reenter communities successfully after incarceration, people must navigate bureaucratic systems and institutions in order to establish a foundation for life.
– Orlando Mayorga, co-chair of the IRC support services working groupThe traditional way of doing things is evolving. People who are system-impacted, who are formerly incarcerated, are being recognized as thought partners and architects of what this space is – setting up holistic and transformative visions of what reentry can be.
If you are interested in learning more about reentry supports, housing, policies and getting involved in advocacy, or would like to be directed to more information on reentry services in general, please see our resources here.
A report by the Statewide Women’s Justice Task Force of Illinois with actionable strategies to address social, political and economic injustices and oppressions. Launched in 2018, the report was published in 2021.
Urban Institute | Counties can promote better outcomes for justice-involved people. March 2021.
From the Illinois Alliance for Reentry & Justice
Curated and managed by Education Justice Project
By bringing together organizations, agencies and leaders working on reentry, the IRC facilitates and builds partnerships and increases communication and capacity-building at local, county and state levels to improve reentry outcomes and ensure the work is not done in silos.
Members of the IRC learn how different jurisdictions support people leaving incarceration, what reentry challenges and opportunities exist in the state, and about the reentry work that members and non-members are initiating and leading. This information-sharing helps reduce duplication of efforts, aligns initiatives, and fosters collaboration among members.
Statewide cross-sector coordination on reentry policy, programs, services and initiatives is guided by a strategic plan created by Council members with varied backgrounds and approaches.
– City of Chicago Reentry Director Willette Benford speaking to the media in 2023 about creating new job opportunities for returning residents.There is a population of untapped potential … This is the beginning of interrupting systems of generational poverty, breaking cycles of incarceration. Jobs, not jails. Opportunity not oppression.
The Illinois Reentry Council was launched in March 2021 to develop effective models and collaborative partnerships to support reentry.