illinois sentencing policy advisory council (spac) regular ......1 illinois sentencing policy...

Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council (SPAC)

Regular Meeting

AGENDA

Friday, March 3, 2017

10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Adler University

17 N. Dearborn Street, 15th Floor (Community Hall)

Chicago, IL

CALL-IN NUMBER:

650-479-3208

Passcode: 627 856 772

Password: 12345

THERE IS NO VIDEO CONFERENCING FOR THIS MEETING

10:30 – 10:45 Welcome, Introductions, Agenda Overview, Approval of 2017 Meeting Dates and

Approval of 9/2016 Meeting Minutes

Hon. Gino DiVito, SPAC Chair

Patrick Delfino, ICJIA Vice Chair

10:45 – 12:15 Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice & Sentencing Reform Final

Report Panel Discussion

Moderator: John Maki, Executive Director ICJIA

Rodger Heaton, Chair of Governor’s Commission on Criminal Justice &

Sentencing Reform – The goal and the process.

Dave Olson, Loyola University – The role of data analysis in the process,

addressing both levers.

Elena Quintana, Adler University & Kathryn Bocanegra, Institute for

Nonviolence Chicago – Empowering the community to respond and help control

crime and addressing trauma’s role in the cycle of violence.

Megan Alderden, ICJIA & Kathryn Saltmarsh, SPAC – Implementing change,

allocating resources & creating the feedback loop.

How we pay for public safety

Creating a robust feedback loop

The importance of local design and control

12:15 – 12:30 Public Comment & Adjourn

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Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council

Regular Meeting Minutes

March 3rd

, 2017 10:30AM – 12:30PM

Location: Adler University

17 N. Dearborn Street, 15th Floor (Community Hall)

Chicago, IL

Members Present – Stephen Baker, Kathryn Bocanegra, Gino DiVito (Chairperson), Marcus Evans, Craig

Findley, Annie Fitzgerald, Michael Glick, John Maki, Margo McDermond, Stuart Palmer, Michael Pelletier,

Kwame Raoul (Vice Chair), Alan Spellberg, Michael Tardy, Gladyse Taylor, Julian Thompson, Stewart

Umholtz, and Warren Wolfson (Vice Chair).

Members Present by Phone – None.

Members Absent – Jason Barickman, Nicholas Kondelis, Don Stemen, and Kristen Ziman.

Non-Members Present – Megan Alderden, John Baldwin, Dorothy Brown, Amy Campanelli, John Carroll,

Peter Coolsen, Patrick Delfino, Mary Ann Dyar, Yasmine El-Gohary, Michael Elliott, Roger Franklin, Cynthia

Hora, Maureen Josh, Bryan Kibler, Stephanie Kollmann, Randy Kurtz, Dave Olson, Toni Preckwinkle, Ben

Ruddell, Michael Toomin, Elena Quintana, Kathy Saltmarsh, Nate Inglis Steinfeld, Jennifer Vollen-Katz, Angie

Weis, Paula Wolff, and Ashley Wright.

Non-Members Present by Phone – None.

Welcome and Introductions

Chairman DiVito called the twenty-fifth regular meeting of the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council, and

the first joint meeting with the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) board, to order at 10:30

a.m. Chairman DiVito gave the opening remarks, including:

Provided an overview of the agenda and purpose of the meeting, focusing on discussing the

Illinois Commission on Criminal Justice Sentencing & Reform’s final report with ICJIA’s

board.

Vote: Approval of the meeting minutes from the September 16, 2016 SPAC meeting

Michael Glick, moved to approve the minutes, seconded by John Maki. The minutes from the September 16,

2016 SPAC meeting were approved by unanimous voice vote.

Vote: Approval of the 2017 SPAC regular meeting dates

Marcus Evans, moved to approve the regular meeting dates, seconded by Gladyse Taylor. The 2017 SPAC

regular meeting dates were approved by unanimous voice vote.

Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice & Sentencing Reform Final Report Panel Discussion

Moderator John Maki began the panel discussion by providing the group with a briefing on the state’s history

with criminal justice commissions, setting the stage for discussion of the recommendations from the Illinois

Commission on Criminal Justice Sentencing & Reform. He shared that ICJIA began as the Illinois Law

Enforcement Commission, until the agency was launched through legislation in 1983, and gave an overview of

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the causes of Illinois prison overcrowding dating back to the 1970s. He said Governor Rauner has set a goal to

reduce the prison populations 25 percent by 2025 and reform the juvenile justice system and parole. The

governor also established the Criminal Justice Sentencing & Reform Commission, he said. The group discussed

whether Illinois’ recent appetite for criminal justice reform was driven by the bipartisan nature of data analysis

and its relationship to measurable outcomes.

Director Maki introduced Dr. David Olson, Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Loyola University,

who spoke from his 30 years of experience in Illinois criminal justice research. Dr. Olson said the strengths of

the Reform Commission were its inclusion of underrepresented groups, dedication of expert members,

bipartisan discussions, leadership by Rodger Heaton, reliance on empirical evidence, and timing, as the state

appeared to be ready for reform and technology was able to answer questions quickly to take advantage of the

momentum. He also noted areas for growth: county-level commissions, rather than one for the whole state; a

plan to review criminal justice policies regularly; a more comprehensive understanding of how sentencing

policies operate in practice; and the effectiveness of large programs.

Director Maki introduced SPAC council member Ms. Kathryn Bocanegra, who offered insight from her

background as a community health advocate. She expressed pride in serving on the Commission, as it engaged

the community and victims of violence. Ms. Bocanegra said she hopes Commission members understood that

safety and rehabilitation are often the desires of victims, rather than harsher penalties. She said she was

especially pleased that trauma-informed recovery was the first recommendation in the final piece, and that de-

incarceration strategies, local community justice coordinating councils, community capacity for treatment, and

data accountability were included as well.

Dr. Elena Quintana, Executive Director of the Institute for Public Safety at Adler University praised the

Commission for having broad membership, including elected and un-elected members, as well as employees of

the criminal justice system and outside advocates. She said she regretted not having included the voice of

someone who was currently or formerly incarcerated. She noted that it would have been beneficial to speak

more deeply about the disproportionate effect of mass incarceration on minority communities, placing drug

offenders in the healthcare system rather than the correctional system, the harm of legal enhancements, the

recidivistic benefits of education and job training, and the importance of support and training for correctional

officers.

Director Maki and Dr. Olson spoke about how, despite the expertise of the Commission members, they observed

changes in attitude and knowledge from all parties, indicating the powerful nature of perspective in the group.

ICJIA Research Director Megan Alderden spoke about the difficulties of implementation and monitoring. In

addition to ensuring that recommendations are being adhered to, data sharing will allow for effective

troubleshooting of unintended consequences, she said. She recommended future discussions on data to examine

confidentiality and privacy issues.

Kathy Saltmarsh, Executive Director of SPAC, discussed common misconceptions in data-driven policy change,

including employment requirements (people need housing near or transportation to currently available positions

rather than job market growth); immediate change (there will be an inevitable time delay in results); and the fear

of data sharing (by funding analysts as well as technology, data cannot be misrepresented for use against the

collector, and the resulting feedback loop will increase problem solving capabilities).

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Clerk Brown complimented the report and urged the Board members to support its implementation. Director

Maki agreed, and added that though ICJIA can share information, provide access to funding, and incentivize

best practices, it cannot mandate change. Implementation of these recommendations must happen at the local

level and will require the commitment of the Board members and other stakeholders, he said.

Director Baldwin expressed pride in being a member of the Commission, and spoke of anticipated changes in

the Department of Corrections, such as electronic monitoring, the Life Skills Reentry Center in Kewanee, and

adherence to evidence-based practices. He asked for patience and support from fellow criminal justice system

actors, as his department often receives more attention for anecdotal failure than systematic success.

Ret. Judge Stuart Palmer, First District Appellate Court, asked why New York was reporting reductions in

violent crime despite their use of mandatory minimums, which the Commission recommends against. Director

Maki answered that New York also dramatically changed their policing tactics, moving away from stop-and-

frisk. He also talked about how overreliance on incarceration can normalize the experience for citizens, making

incapacitation a rite of passage rather than a punishment. Removing too many people can erode the collective

efficacy of the group, which is the process through which communities informally guide the behavior of their

own members, he said. Under the supervision of the criminal justice system, people face barriers to

employment, pro-social relationships, and meaningful inclusion, which are all factors that protect against

harmful criminal behavior, he said.

State Rep. Marcus Evans also addressed Judge Palmer’s question, explaining that homicide and gun crime rates

in New York and Washington, D.C., were greatly affected by gentrification within the city limits. Rather than

permanently solving neighborhood problems, legislation and rising property values pushed low-income

residents into other areas, and the crime was displaced with them, he said. Mr. Evans said, therefore, mandatory

minimums are not the answer to this problem, and the long-term solution will require thoughtful and painstaking

discussion, rather than knee-jerk reactions.

Mr. Olson added despite New York’s mandatory minimums, Illinois generally has a more punitive sentencing

scheme. He pointed out that New York offers more services to crime victims, and that these services are valued

more highly by victims than harsher punishment, even though law-makers often respond to crime with enhanced

prosecution rather than victim services.

State Sen. Kwame Raoul, SPAC Vice-Chair, described a bill that was related to those concerns and the

recommendations of the Commission. He said it did not include the truth-in-sentencing provisions of previous

bills, preserved judicial discretion in departures from mandatory minimums for gun offenders, allowed for

programming credits for truth-in-sentencing inmates, reduced time on mandatory supervised release, reduced

Safe Neighborhood Act sentence enhancements, and lowered minimums for drug possession cases.

Gladyse Taylor, Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, reminded the group that these

changes are not cheap to make, and reduced funding to her department makes some of the desired

implementation insurmountable. Gino DiVito, SPAC Chair, seconded Ms. Taylor’s observation, saying that

without increased services that address criminological needs, legislative changes will be less impactful. Ms.

Campanelli added that the judiciary can push back against poor or overly harsh policy by exercising their

discretion. She said keeping low-risk people out of extended incarceration, even when they are repeat offenders,

and offering them meaningful services when they are on release, will improve outcomes and divert the school-

to-prison pipeline. Mr. Raoul reiterated a point raised by many members: increased services require increased

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taxes or cuts and the proposed cuts are often of the service programs referenced here. Chairman DiVito

suggested the state reinvests the money saved from reduced prison populations in resources that will keep

people away from harmful criminal behavior, and Mr. Evans recommended that future publications address

funding and appropriations.

Adjournment

Stuart Palmer, moved to adjourn the twenty-fifth regular meeting of the Sentencing Policy Advisory Council,

seconded by Kwame Raoul. The twenty-fifth regular meeting of the Sentencing Policy Advisory Council was

adjourned at 12:30 p.m. by unanimous voice vote.


Regular Meeting

AGENDA

Friday, June 23, 2017

10:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

300 W. Adams, Suite 200

Chicago, IL

CALL-IN NUMBER:

888-494-4032

Passcode: 7205356689#


10:00 – 10:15 Welcome, Agenda Overview and Approval of Minutes

Hon. Gino DiVito, SPAC Chairman

10:15 – 10:45 What is Going On with the Sentenced Population?

Nate Inglis-Steinfeld, SPAC Research Director

Mark Powers, SPAC Senior Research Analyst

10:45 – 11:15 Stakeholder Viewpoints – Where are we on reforming the system & what

are the challenges of implementing new policies?

Quintin Williams, Moderator

Kim Foxx, Cook County State’s Attorney

Amy Campanelli, Cook County Public Defender

Kathryn Bocanegra, SPAC member & Community member on Commission

11:15 – 12:15 Q & A, Discussion

Quintin Williams, Moderator

12:15 – 12:45 Lunch - Updates from RANA, Adult Redeploy & ICJIA Mary Ann Dyar, Adult Redeploy

Megan Alderden, ICJIA

Gladyse Taylor, RANA & Offender 360

12:45 – 1:20 Feedback from members on making SPAC’s work more user friendly

Kathy Saltmarsh, Executive Director

1:20 – 1:30 New Business & Adjourn

Topics for future meetings

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June 23rd

, 2017 10:00AM – 1:30PM

Location: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority

300 West Adams Street, Suite 200

Chicago, IL

Members Present – Megan Alderden (John Maki), Stephen Baker, Kathryn Bocanegra, James Chadd (Michael

Pelletier), Edith Crigler (Craig Findley), Gino DiVito (Chairman), Annie Fitzgerald, Kathleen Hill (Alan

Spellberg ), David Iskowich (Michael Glick), Stuart Palmer, Don Stemen, Gladyse Taylor.

Members Present by Phone – Nicholas Kondelis and Michael Tardy.

Members Absent – Jason Barickman, Marcus Evans, Margo McDermond, Kwame Raoul (Vice Chair), Julian

Thompson, Stewart Umholtz, Warren Wolfson (Vice Chair) and Kristen Ziman.

Non-Members Present – Jordan Boulgar, Amy Campanelli, Peter Coolsen, Mary Ann Dyar, Yasmine El-

Gohary, Michael Elliott, Kim Foxx, Roger Franklin, Sharlyn Grace, Anna Jirschele, Nushrat Johan, Jared Jones,

Stephanie Kollmann, Era Laudermilk, Lindsay LaPointe, Ben Lewis, James Long, Koryann Lopez, Frances

McDonald, Lynne Mock, Hanna Pfeiffer, Mark Powers, Barbara Reynolds, Laurie Jo Reynolds, Rahmel

Robinson, Kathy Saltmarsh, Laura Scherkenbach, Julia Scholozman, Nate Inglis-Steinfeld, Michael Toomin,

Gwyn Troyer, Michael Walker, Christina Devitt-Westley, Quintin Williams, and Kathie Kane-Willis.

Non-Members Present by Phone – Rich Adkins, Samantha Gaddy, Natalie Kase, and Paula Wolff.


Chairman DiVito called the twenty-sixth regular meeting of the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council to

order at 10:10 a.m. Chairman DiVito gave the opening remarks, including a summary of the agenda and

purpose of the meeting:

The last SPAC meeting was held jointly with the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority

(ICJIA) board and focused on the final report of the Governor’s Commission on Criminal

Justice & Sentencing Reform. This meeting builds on that discussion by looking at how we go

from recommendations to implementing change in the system.

First, SPAC research staff will provide an overview of what has happened in the sentenced

population over the last two years and what is, and is not, contributing to the significant

decrease in the prison population. Second, a panel of practitioners, including Cook County

Public Defender Amy Campanelli and State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, will share their viewpoints

on where we are and how we move from passing a new law to implementing the new policies.

After the working lunch with updates from our partners at ARI, IDOC and ICJIA, SPAC

members will provide input on how to make SPAC’s work more useful and more usable in the

policy arena. Finally, topics for our next meeting on September 15 will be discussed.

Chairman DiVito thanked Mike Tardy, who has announced that he will be retiring August 1, for

his many years of service to the court system and his participation on SPAC. Director Tardy

thanked everyone for their kind words and said he will be introducing SPAC to the next director

in the coming months.

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Vote: Approval of the meeting minutes from the March 3, 2017 SPAC meeting

Gladyse Taylor, moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Stephen Baker. The minutes from the March 3,


What is Going On with the Sentenced Population?

The SPAC research team gave a brief PowerPoint presentation on why the Illinois Department of Correction’s

(IDOC) prison population is on the decline. SPAC Research Director, Nate Inglis-Steinfeld, began by posing

this question: “The prison population has decreased significantly over the last several years – was the decline

driven by policy, practice, or something not previously considered?” The SPAC research team looked at a

variety of factors to help determine what is going on, and what is not. Currently, the prison population is more

than 10% lower than it was two years ago. This decline has significant implications for the reforms discussed

over the past two years and for system actors. SPAC’s goal is to describe the decline in the who, what, where,

how, and why questions in the context of the two levers that drive the population: admissions and length of stay.

SPAC Senior Research Analyst, Mark Powers stated Illinois has seen a decline in admissions across all regions

of the State, including a two-third decline in Cook County alone. The biggest decline occurred in Class 1, Class

2, and Class 4 admissions, while Class X offenses did not change significantly. Drug and property offenses had

the largest decline, while possession of controlled substance and possession of cocaine declined across all

regions. The offense of burglary declined the most in Cook County. Analysis of lengths of stay (LOS) by the

IDOC research and analysis unit established that LOS has consistently increased over the last ten years. Thus,

the decline can be attributed to the decline in admissions.

The research team analyzed three potential causes of the decline in admissions: wider use of diversion programs,

changes in statewide policies due to reform efforts, and decreases in charges per arrest. The available data

shows the following:

Over the last two years felony probation sentences have not increased according to both

Administrative Office of the Illinois Court (AOIC) and Criminal History Record Information

(CHRI) data, as well as conversations with a sample of probation departments.

Adult Redeploy Illinois (ARI), a statewide diversion program, has had a decrease in enrollments

since 2015, largely due to the budget impasse. The decline in Cook County prison admissions is

far greater than the number of ARI participants in Cook County, so it cannot account for the

entire decline. Outside of Cook, it is possible that ARI is a driver of the decline in admissions.

The number of convictions per arrest, or the probability of being convicted for a felony arrest

has not changed over time based on preliminary analyses. The complete analysis will not be

available for another 6 months to a year.

The statewide decrease in admissions can be attributed primarily to the decline in arrests, with

the largest decline, particularly drug and property arrests, coming from the Chicago Police

Department. Arrests have declined consistently over the last two years in all regions of the

State.

SPAC Research Analyst Yasmine El-Gohary spoke about whether recommendations from the Illinois State

Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform Commission have contributed to the decline in the

prison population. Four of the twenty-seven recommendations resulted in State law or policy change. Fourteen

have had some parts enacted by policy and implementation, defined as legislative or high-level policy change.

Nine of the recommendations have not yet been implemented. Of the twenty-seven recommendations, only four

deal with Admissions, with one of those policies implemented to this date. Ten recommendations deal with

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LOS, with one implemented to date, and five deal with reentry, with two implemented to date. None of the

implemented recommendations have been in effect long enough to contribute to the most recent decline in the

IDOC population.

Stakeholder Viewpoints Panel and Discussion

Moderator, Quintin Williams, sociologist and Ph.D. candidate at Loyola University, explained that the purpose

of this panel is to start thinking about the relationship between policy and practice by hearing from two women

on the front lines of administering the criminal justice system, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and

Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli. Rounding out the panel is current SPAC member, Kathryn

Bocanegra, Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, who brings her perspective as a community activist focused on

preventing and responding to violence in high risk communities.

Kim Foxx, Cook County State’s Attorney, began by stating that improving public safety is her top priority. She

is supported in this vital work by the hundreds of talented prosecutors and thousands of dedicated law

enforcement officers who have devoted their careers to fighting crime, and advocating for victims. She is also

mindful that we cannot fully address our public safety crisis without first taking steps to restore trust and

increase accountability and transparency when reforming our system. She said she made that commitment as a

candidate, and plans to fulfill that commitment as State’s Attorney. Foxx said we must invest in efforts to

address the underlying drivers of much of our non-violent crime, including mental illness, addiction, and lack of

economic opportunity. Community courts, specialty courts and diversion programs are important tools in our

efforts to reduce recidivism, use taxpayer dollars more efficiently, and make our streets safer. Foxx will

continue to evaluate and expand effective alternative programs as part of her broader public safety strategy. She

wants the people of Cook County to embrace transparency as a critical element of reform. State’s Attorneys

must acknowledge and confront racial disparities in a system that too often perpetuates injustice. Her office will

be proactive in engaging with the city’s communities: improving how we work with victims, publicly

distributing information about these efforts, collaborating with new partners and stakeholders, and developing a

two-way dialogue with the community. The criminal justice system will not transform overnight. The 5 million

residents of Cook County deserve a better system, one that is driven not by a “win at any cost” mentality, but by

a persistent quest for justice, in whatever form that takes in a particular case. This quest for justice is how Foxx

will earn the community’s trust and build bridges to improve public safety. A reformed criminal justice system

that is more responsive to the people and more responsible in the pursuit of justice is a win-win for all,

especially if implemented safely and correctly.

Amy Campanelli, Cook County Public Defender, shared her criminal justice reform musts: pursuing bond court

reform, so that no one is in jail awaiting trial for a non-violent charge; expanding the use of specialty and

therapeutic courts to help our veterans, the victims of sex trafficking, those with mental health needs, those with

substance abuse issues, and the homeless; reaching out to the community and to her client base so they

understand the importance of the work the public defender does, and how they have a constitutional right to

legal representation whenever they are accused of committing a crime; and expanding training for staff in the

office. Training was neglected the last few years, and it has to be reinvigorated. In order for reform to be

successful we must view the legal community as its own self-contained village. And, in that village, everyone

must help everyone else. She noted that there are many experts in the field of criminal defense with years of

institutional knowledge and experience that can help other attorneys and defenders. But they also need to raise

their voices to their political representatives and community leaders that the Public Defender needs the resources

to ensure proper representation, and end indiscriminate incarceration of minorities and the poor. Of course for

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all of this to work the resources must be budgeted and distributed properly to ensure for a more successful

outcome.

Kathryn Bocanegra, SPAC member and community representative on the Governor’s Commission, believes that

many remarkable ideas are starting to come to fruition as a direct result of the Commission’s recommendations.

She noted that ICJIA has created the position of a victimologist, whose focus is to conduct extensive research on

the nature of victimization throughout this State, which she believes, is a step in the right direction. Secondly,

expanding the availability of Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding to organizations that support individuals

impacted by community violence is critical in helping to bring back our communities that have long been

suffering due to crime and violence. Intentionally or unintentionally, this has helped her to think about who

victims are, and recognize that the people we isolate in the category of ‘perpetrators’ could also be victims.

Another idea from the Commission centered on the research and development of Trauma Recovery Centers.

She believes this idea is needed in our communities and she hopes to continue informing people about the model

and inspire collaboration here in Illinois. She then spoke of the challenges that come with implementing these

community-centric reforms. She thinks we should think about who we are consulting with as we think about

how to increase services and treatment capacity in high-need communities. The people who live and work in

these communities must be at the forefront of any reform plan. Bocanegra also pointed out that she admired the

work of the Alliance for Safety and Justice that centers the victim voice and victim experience in their criminal

justice policy reform work. They released a report in December 2016, the first ever state-wide survey of crime

victims. In closing, she completed her remarks by sharing some of her own work to raise the voices of those

most impacted by the system, the victims of violent crime and their feelings about those who committed those

acts against their friends and family members. Her work can be found at https://soundcloud.com/2sidesofjustice.

Updates from SPAC Partners

Adult Redeploy Illinois (ARI): ARI Program Director Mary Ann Dyar provided an update of funding, site

statistics, and current site issues. This fiscal year, Adult Redeploy Illinois has provided funding and technical

assistance to increase alternatives to incarceration in 20 sites covering 39 counties, and is working to change the

status quo. As the result of the State budget crisis, ARI went with no funds for a full year in SFY16, and then

was funded in the stop gap bill for SFY16 and SFY17. Overall, only two sites left the ARI network. While

managing the challenges caused by the State’s budget impasse beginning in June 2015, most local ARI sites

have continued, indicating a commitment to maintaining the benefits of ARI both for their clients and their

communities. With stopgap funds, significant headway continued toward realizing ARI’s strategic goals and

mission. ARI is expected to support 20 sites in 39 counties in SFY18; however, the ability to implement

programs into SFY18 with no appropriation is uncertain and relies on local decision-making. ARI has been

included (at sufficient levels) in all SFY18 budget proposals. If ARI was defunded the sites would not be able

to continue operating long term, but some could consolidate to extend that period. It should be noted that every

judicial circuit is mandated to have a drug court; therefore, most sites operating drug courts would have to find a

way to continue operating at some level, though much reduced. The burden on local county budgets would be

crippling. By the end of the year, the ARI network likely would be skeletal, with program staff still offering

technical assistance and facilitating peer sharing to the extent possible.

Risk Assets Needs Assessment (RANA): IDOC Assistant Director Gladyse Taylor, began by reminding the

group that implementation is not cheap, and reduced funding to IDOC can make some of the desired outcomes

unattainable. Gino DiVito, SPAC Chair, seconded Ms. Taylor’s observation, saying that without increased

services that address criminogenic needs, legislative changes will be less impactful. She then spoke about the

ongoing changes at IDOC, such as electronic monitoring, the Life Skills Reentry Center in Kewanee, and

https://soundcloud.com/2sidesofjustice

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adherence to evidence-based practices, and dealing with the constant challenges of implementation of the Risk

and Needs Assessment (RANA) tool. She completed her update by reminding everyone of the harm the State’s

budget crisis is having on IDOC and was hopeful for a positive resolution before the start of the new fiscal year.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA): Research Director Megan Alderden began by

mentioning the increase in VOCA funds and how ICJIA is working to release grants consistent with the strategic

areas identified during the Ad Hoc Meeting and approved by the board this past January. ICJIA is also moving

toward a competitive process under Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) as well as other funding areas. Lastly,

ICJIA is working to provide technical support to criminal justice coordinating councils, which were

recommended by the Governor’s Commission. They hope to learn from piloting the councils in the five

counties – Lake, Winnebago, McLean, McHenry, and St. Clair.

New Business

Executive Director Kathy Saltmarsh, asked the council for feedback on potential topics for the next two

meetings this year:

Misdemeanor sentencing – Is it a road to felon status?

Dynamic System Modeling (DSM) and the criminal justice system – Scientists at Argonne National Lab

have expressed an interest in completing a dynamic system model of the criminal justice system. These

models are used across many policy areas including public health and transportation to understand the

transient dynamics of complex systems.

Periodic imprisonment – the idea of allowing people to continue to work or go to school while serving

their sentences in small increments, such as weekends, has been around for a long time, but we have

little knowledge of how frequently it is used, who is given this type of sentence, and its value as a

rehabilitative tool.

The role of probation eligibility as a gatekeeper for evidence-based alternatives to incarceration such as

ARI.

Don Stemen suggested that the work he and Dr. Dave Olson have done on prison use by county would be a good

meeting topic. Due to time constraints, member feedback on SPAC’s fiscal impact analysis was not discussed.

Director Saltmarsh will contact members individually to gather their thoughts. She completed her remarks by

reminding all members that the next meeting will be held on September 15, at the same time and location.

Adjournment

Annie Fitzgerald, moved to adjourn the twenty-sixth regular meeting of the Sentencing Policy Advisory

Council, seconded by Don Stemen. The twenty-sixth regular meeting of the Sentencing Policy Advisory Council

was adjourned at 1:45 p.m. by unanimous voice vote.


Regular Meeting

AGENDA

Friday, September 15, 2017

10:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.


Chicago, IL

CALL-IN NUMBER:

888-494-4032

Passcode: 7205356689#




10:15 – 10:25 The Prison Paradox – The Relationship Between Incarceration & Safety

Dr. Don Stemen, Loyola University Chicago Department of Criminal Justice &

Criminology

10:25 – 12:00 Felony Sentencing in Illinois: Individual and County Effects on Sentences,

followed by discussion

Dr. Don Stemen & Dr. Dave Olson, Loyola University Chicago Department of

Criminal Justice & Criminology

12:00 – 12:30 Lunch - Updates from RANA, Adult Redeploy & ICJIA Mary Ann Dyar, Adult Redeploy

John Maki, ICJIA


12:30 New Business

Next meeting scheduled for Friday, November 17 at ICJIA Office

12:45 Adjourn

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September 15th

, 2017 10:00AM – 12:45PM



Chicago, IL

Members Present – Stephen Baker, Kathryn Bocanegra, Gino DiVito (Chairman), Marcus Evans, Craig

Findley, Michael Glick, John Maki, Margo McDermed, Stuart Palmer, Alan Spellberg, Don Stemen, Gladyse

Taylor, Julian Thompson and Warren Wolfson (Vice Chair).

Members Present by Phone – Rich Adkins (Marcia Meis), Nicholas Kondelis and Stu Umholtz.

Members Absent – Jason Barickman, Annie Fitzgerald, Michael Pelletier, Kwame Raoul (Vice Chair) and

Kristen Ziman.

Non-Members Present – Lisa Daniels, Mary Ann Dyar, Michael Elliott, Justin Escamilla, Lily Gleicher,

Bryant Jackson-Green, Roger Franklin, Lindsay LaPointe, Sharone Mitchell, Adriana Perez, Kathy Saltmarsh,

Laura Scherkenbach, Nate Inglis-Steinfeld, Phillip Whittington and Paula Wolff.

Non-Members Present by Phone – Rodger Heaton and Brian Kenner.


Chairman DiVito called the twenty-seventh regular meeting of the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council

to order at 10:03 a.m. Chairman DiVito gave the opening remarks, including a summary of the agenda and

purpose of the meeting:

A new format for this meeting includes foregoing a formal session after lunch. This allows

more time for those attending to talk to each other, because those conversations can be valuable

and sometimes lead to great things. Our collaborative partners will report as usual.

Dr. Don Stemen will give a brief overview of his work examining the relationship between

prison and public safety which was recently published by the Vera Institute of Justice. His

report is included in your materials.

The second presentation will build on our last meeting, where we talked on the broadest level

about the reasons we have seen significant declines in the prison population over recent months.

There was a significant statewide decline in the number of arrests during this time. Today, Dr.

Stemen and Dr. Dave Olson will drill down further to look at the county level patterns in use of

incarceration and how the county of conviction influences the likelihood of a prison sentence.

Vote: Approval of the meeting minutes from the June 23, 2017 SPAC meeting

Margo McDermed moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Warren Wolfson. The minutes from the June 23,


The Prison Paradox – The Relationship Between Incarceration & Safety

Last July the Vera Institute of Justice published a report by Dr. Don Stemen, Loyola University Chicago

Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology, on the relationship between public safety and incarceration.

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Don began with an overview of the past 18 months, where there has been a misperception that (A) crime rates in

the U.S, are increasing overall and that (B) the increased use of incarceration reduces crime rates. Several

recent efforts have addressed these questions. Both the Brennan Center for Justice and the Vera Institute of

Justice have examined crime trends and found that violent crime rates nationally remain fairly constant and at

some of their lowest levels in 40 years. Where crime has increased, those increases – like crime generally --

remain fairly localized in a few cities and within those cities in a few neighborhoods. Further, the increases in

crime in those neighborhoods remain concentrated within a few offense types.

The Brennan Center and the Vera Institute have also examined social science research on the connection

between higher incarceration rates and crime rates, to addressing the theory that more incarceration reduces

crime. The call for more incarceration to reduce crime makes intuitive sense. At the individual level,

incarceration should work to reduce crime by incapacitating individuals – taking them out of the community so

that they cannot commit crimes in the future – or by deterring individuals – dissuading the individual

incarcerated or others from committing crimes in the future out of fear of punishment. But the incapacitative and

deterrent effects of incarceration on crime is likely negligible given the attrition of cases in the criminal justice

system – which diminishes the ability to incarcerate many people who commit crimes and diminishes the

certainty of sanction following commission of a crime. Dr. Stemen concluded from social science research that

incarceration is unlikely to cause a significant, if any, reduction in crime rates.

It’s fair to say after 25 years of consistently declining crime rates, policymakers continue to feel pressure to

introduce measures to address even small upticks in crime. This is understandable – policymakers should seek

solutions to the problems of violence and embrace practices and policies that can keep crime rates low. Penalty

enhancements and filling the nation’s prisons is not a solution that will work. The impact of incarceration on

crime is limited and has had a diminishing return for years. Increased incarceration has no effect on violent

crime and may actually lead to higher crime rates when incarceration is concentrated in certain communities.

Instead, policymakers can reduce crime without continuing to increase the social, cultural, and political costs of

mass incarceration by investing in more effective and efficient crime reduction strategies that seek to engage the

community, provide needed services to those who are criminally involved, and begin to address the underlying

causes of crime.

Felony Sentencing in Illinois: Individual and County Effects on Sentences

Dr. Dave Olson, Loyola University Chicago Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology, partnered with Dr.

Don Stemen to work on this project to help address the questions: “Does the county you are convicted in have

an effect on the sentence imposed,” and “How much variance should we tolerate if our goal is equal justice for

all regardless of the location of conviction?”

They began by describing Illinois and their methodology. There are 102 counties in Illinois, which vary in size,

urbanization, crime, resources, demographics, and current use of prison. They considered a host of factors that

are directly relevant for each counties’ use of incarceration: each county has an independently elected

prosecutors/judges, the State sentencing system is an unstructured determinate system, there are wide statutory

sentence ranges without sentencing guidelines, murder/Class X felonies require mandatory prison sentences,

Class 1 to 4 felonies are mostly probationable, court management is mostly decentralized, court data is

maintained independently by elected clerks, and there is no central repository of court dispositions.

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Using these data points and a logistic regression data analysis, they found general sentencing patterns regarding:

Use of prison, probation, jail, other sanctions

Influence of individual & county factors on outcomes

Defendant demographics, case attributes, county characteristics

Multiple measures of prison use/sanctions

In/Out decision (prison or no prison)

The severity of the prison sentence imposed

Of those sentenced to prison, percent of the maximum sentence allowable imposed

The higher the percent of the maximum allowable sentence imposed, the more severe the prison

sentence can be viewed,

Other sentences (jail, fines, etc.)

Case processing

Declinations, dismissals, charge reduction

Admissions and length of stay drives correctional populations:

What defendant and case characteristics influence the length of prison sentences?

How to measure sentence length?

Percent of maximum allowable sentence imposed.

Class 2 felony allows a prison sentence anywhere between 3 and 7 years, or a maximum of 7. If the

sentence imposed is 3 years, then 42% of the maximum was imposed.

Class 4 felony allows a prison sentence anywhere between 1 and 3 years, or a maximum of 3. If the

sentence imposed is 3 years, then 100% of the maximum was imposed

Sentence length in months (or years)

In above example, both received the same sentence of 3 years, even though the above example could be

seen as one sentence being more punitive than the other.

Olson and Stemen’s analysis concluded that some of their findings are consistent with the existing literature,

some nuanced findings (i.e., findings depend on type of offense, county of conviction, and depending on the

outcome variable). The research also illustrates utility of using these data and analyses to identify jurisdictions

that use prison at higher rates and are more severe in their sentences (controlling for relevant factors). Lastly, it

shows how influential criminal history is, but also how limited the influence is of a specific risk of violence

score relative to the legal classification of the offense. Olson and Stemen plan to continue their research into

this topic and will provide updates of any significant findings.



statistics, and current site issues. ARI received its largest annual appropriation in the SFY18 budget of

approximately $8.2 million. Of that, $6.2 million is for 20 continuing sites, to essentially maintain operations

from last year (which were at a lower level due to the effects of the State budget impasse). ARI is currently

working at pushing out $1 million in funds from the SFY18 appropriation, about half for new sites (planning

and implementation) and half to supplement current sites. This week ARI released a competitive Notice of

Funding Opportunity for the new planning and implementation grants, with a due date for applications of

October 31st. ARI is working with the ARI Research Manager on a host of efforts to assess and clean up ARI’s

data so that they can provide sites with a useful feedback loop and start planning for an outcome evaluation. At

its August meeting, the ARI Oversight Board approved $100,000 in the program’s administrative budget for

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evaluation activities. ARI is still planning to support efforts to expand eligibility subject to local decision-

making for the use of ARI funds. A bill this past session to do just that, HB3905 (Rep. Stratton), did not make it

to the floor for a vote. ARI welcomes SPAC members’ assistance and input on this. Lastly, ARI reported a staff

change: Lindsey LaPointe, ARI Program Manager for over 5 years, went to work in criminal justice reform in

the not-for-profit sector. The new ARI Program Manager is Adriana Perez, who has deep experience here at

ICJIA in both the grants and research units.

Risk Assets Needs Assessment (RANA): IDOC Assistant Director Gladyse Taylor provided an update on

programming, and how SB 2872 (Rep. Gordon-Booth) will impact IDOC this upcoming January. Taylor noted

that there are 4,000 on the waiting list for educational programs. This includes: adult basic education, advance

education, and GED. The largest lists are among Sheridan, Illinois River, Shawnee, Lawrence and Vienna.

GED as of 1/1/17 had 349 graduates with a goal of over 500 by the end of the fiscal year. IDOC has instituted

new computer-based testing for GED. Currently, IDOC is in the top 4 nationally for success rate and possibly

#1 among other states with similar testing: inmates have a 96% success rate through the I-pathways curriculum

which prepares offenders for the GED. The national average is lower than 70%. Currently, Lakeland

Community College is the only vocational college servicing 17 facilities and will include Kewanee. IDOC is in

talks with Lakeland to expand the curriculum. Also, IDOC is looking into adding an apprenticeship program

and bringing advanced degree programs to IDOC. The Department is in talks with the University of Illinois-

Champaign.

Taylor then spoke about the State's new largest residential facility for mentally ill inmates, the former Illinois

Youth Center prison in Joliet. It has been transformed into a mental health treatment unit for male inmates with

severe mental illness. The facility will be the largest of its kind in Illinois and will begin accepting inmates by

year's end. The goal is to help address concerns stemming from a 2007 class action lawsuit regarding the

treatment of mentally ill inmates in Illinois prisons. The State settled the lawsuit in 2015. Residential treatment

units also will be opened at the Dixon, Pontiac and Logan prisons for inmates with less severe needs. The

Department also operates two buildings at the Elgin Mental Health Center for male and female inmates with

mental illness who need to be hospitalized. Taylor said everything at the center is geared toward treatment. The

center, which has beds for more than 486 inmates, is a step-down facility meaning inmates will work toward the

goal of moving out of the facility into a general prison or back into the community once their terms are up. Even

within the facility there are portions of the center that are geared toward more intensive treatment and

supervision and areas that are less restrictive for inmates who have progressed in their treatment.

New Business

Director Saltmarsh reported that SPAC staff is continuing the process of completing a round of calls with

council members to get their feedback on SPAC’s work and level of communication. Calls have also been made

to legislative staffers. She completed her remarks by reminding all members that the next meeting will be held

on November 17th, at the same time and location.

Adjournment

Margo McDermed, moved to adjourn the twenty-seventh regular meeting of the Sentencing Policy Advisory

Council, seconded by Gladyse Taylor. The twenty-seventh regular meeting of the Sentencing Policy Advisory

Council was adjourned at 1:20 p.m. by unanimous voice vote.


Regular Meeting

AGENDA

Friday, November 17, 2017

10:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.


Chicago, IL

CALL-IN NUMBER:

888-494-4032

Passcode: 720 535 6689#




10:15 – 12:00 The Impact of Criminal Justice Reform on the Exercise of Police Discretion

Dr. Laura Kunard, Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety, Office of the

Inspector General for the City of Chicago, Moderator

Chief Frank Kaminski, Park Ridge Police Chief

Rick Tanskley, Former Oak Park Police Chief

Judge Jeffrey Ford, Champaign County Drug Court

Shawn Hallett, Champaign County Sheriff’s Deputy

12:00 – 12:30 Lunch - Updates from Adult Redeploy, ICJIA & RANA

Mary Ann Dyar, Adult Redeploy

John Maki, ICJIA


12:30 – 12:45 New Business & Adjourn

Set Meeting Dates for 2018

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November 17th, 2017 10:00AM – 12:45PM



Chicago, IL

Members Present – Stephen Baker, Kathryn Bocanegra, Jim Chadd (Michael Pelletier), Gino DiVito (Chairman),

Craig Findley, Annie Fitzgerald, Michael Glick, John Maki, Margo McDermed, Marcia Meis, Micaela Smith

(Marcus Evans), Alan Spellberg, Julian Thompson and Warren Wolfson (Vice Chair).

Members Present by Phone – Nicholas Kondelis and Stu Umholtz.

Members Absent – Jason Barickman, Stuart Palmer, Kwame Raoul (Vice Chair), Don Stemen, Gladyse Taylor

and Kristen Ziman.

Non-Members Present – Mary Ann Dyar, Michael Elliott, Lily Gleicher, Bryant Jackson-Green, Madeleine

Hamilin, Roger Franklin, Sharone Mitchell, Lynne Mock, Adriana Perez, Mark Powers, Kathy Saltmarsh, Laura

Scherkenbach, Nate Inglis-Steinfeld, Michael Toomin and Paula Wolff.

Non-Members Present by Phone – Jennifer Paswater and David Risley.


Chairman DiVito called the twenty-eighth regular meeting of the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council to

order at 10:10 a.m. Chairman DiVito gave the opening remarks, including a summary of the agenda and purpose

of the meeting:

• At our last SPAC meeting, Rep. McDermed commented that we pay way too much attention to

the back end of the system and not enough to the front end, thus the idea of doing a meeting on

how reform efforts impact the exercise of police discretion. Given our mandate to look at the

system as a whole and the allocation of resources, it is appropriate to talk about the law

enforcement role as the gatekeeper to the system and the gulf between policy and practice that

frequently exists.

• We invited Chief Kaminski of Park Ridge and Chief Tanksley, who retired from the Oak Park

Police Department not too long ago, because both have taken innovative approaches to policing

in their communities. However, Chief Tanksley was called into court and was not able to attend.

Additionally, Champaign County Drug Court from Judge Jeffery Ford and Champaign County

Sheriff’s Deputy Shawn Hallett provided insight into law enforcement’s duties with drug courts

and how that county’s courts have dealt with local budget cuts. Special thanks to Mary Ann Dyar

for suggesting that we include this topic as it goes to the role law enforcement can play to help

keep people out of the prison system via alternatives to incarceration.

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Vote: Approval of the meeting minutes from the September 15, 2017 SPAC meeting

Margo McDermed moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Julian Thompson. The minutes from the

September 15, 2017 SPAC meeting were approved by unanimous voice vote.

Stakeholder Viewpoints; The Impact of Criminal Justice Reform on the Exercise of Police Discretion

Moderator, Dr. Laura Kunard, has worked with many police agencies throughout Illinois in her past positions

with CNA and at the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs where she served as the

director of Center for Public Safety and Justice. Dr. Kunard currently serves as Deputy Inspector General for

Public Safety within the Inspector General’s Office in Chicago. She explained that the purpose of this panel was

to start thinking about the relationship between policy reforms and practices on the exercise of police discretion.

Dr. Kunard then turned the conversation over to the three panelists who shared their experiences with the Council.

Chief Kaminski shared his extensive background in community policing/problem solving, school and community

relations, accreditation, media relations, enhanced 911, criminal and internal investigations, financial

management, and labor relations. He also spoke about the need for more communication and involvement with

policy makers earlier on in the process, rather than the usual practice of him and his colleges learning about

potential policy changes, when they are already moving through the legislative process. Funding is another hurdle

that he constantly has to deal with, but the best decision that was ever made in his current department was the

hiring of a social worker. The hiring has helped give his officers a different perspective than many learn in

training. He also believes that the role of the police officer has drastically changed over the years, and their duties

have become more socially focused than police focused.

Judge Ford began with an overview of his drug court and the importance of having a sheriff’s deputy involved,

working in tandem together. Champaign County Drug Court functions by blending accendibility with treatment

which, along with an effect, Judge-monitored court docket, strikes the proper balance between the need to protect

the community and the need to improve public health. Offenders stay in drug court is typically 12-18 months.

Throughout this time clients are afforded an intensive regimen of drug treatment, regular and random drug tests,

and frequent appearances in court for the Judge and his team to review their progress. Clients are rewarded for

doing well and sanctioned for not living up to their obligations.

Through a two-year grant provided by the Department of Justice, Champaign County Drug Court received funds

to add a Deputy Sheriff to the Drug Court Team. The recent inclusion of law enforcement on the Drug Court

Team has proven to be highly successful. By working the streets, law enforcement contributes a unique

perspective that reaps many benefits that the court would not normally be privy too. The Sheriff’s Office is a full

team member, and his perspectives are not ignored. According to statistics developed by the NPC Research,

having a member of law enforcement on the team was associated with a 57% higher graduation rate comparted to

46% for those that did not have law enforcement on their team. By adding law enforcement to the team, Judge

Ford stated his belief that the county benefits from this cost-effective strategy by adding an active voice in

problem-solving, as well as an increase in credibility and accountability. Judge Ford reported that the Champaign

County Sheriff’s Office and the Champaign County Drug Court were working together will continue to greatly

reduce the revolving door of recidivism and make their community a safer place to live.



statistics, and current site issues. Ms. Dyar said a second grant monitor will join ARI and that they are formalizing

the contractual policy and project coordinator position. Ms. Dyar introduced new ARI intern Khyrah Simpson,

a University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration student who assisted with the Smart

Decarceration Initiative 2nd National Conference, attended by ARI staff. ARI staff also attended the ICJIA Opioid

Conference in early November 2017. Ms. Dyar reported on a survey about sites’ use of pleas, fees, and fines and

on efforts to inform sites about new legislation that expands criminal records sealing eligibility. She noted that

Cabrini Green Legal Aid presented on the topic of records relief at the recent All-Sites Summit.

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Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA): Director John Maki spoke briefly about ICJIA’s two

most recent notices of funding opportunity, including one for community-based violence intervention (State) and

one for victims of community violence (federal). He also said ICJIA was staffing two unfunded initiatives: the

Sex Offenses and Sex Offender Registration Task Force and Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils.

New Business

Chairman DiVito announced the 2018 SPAC meeting dates will take place on the third Friday of June (15th),

September (21st), and November (16th).

Adjournment

Craig Findley, moved to adjourn the twenty-eighth regular meeting of the Sentencing Policy Advisory Council,

seconded by Alan Spellberg. The twenty-eighth regular meeting of the Sentencing Policy Advisory Council was

adjourned at 1:05 p.m. by unanimous voice vote.

illinois sentencing policy advisory council (spac) regular ......1 illinois sentencing policy...

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