The most amazing story of the year
Monday, Mar 14, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A group of committed volunteers goes into the worst cell block in all of Cook County Jail and produces unheard of results. Wow…
The combined number of incidents prior to the implementation of Malachi Dads in September 2015 was 83.
“The numbers don’t lie,” says Dart. “As a group, they had incident after incident, fighting, fighting with correctional officers and exposing themselves. Now, it’s zero. I’m not saying it went from whatever to zero and back up. It has stayed at zero. I was blown away.”
Read it all.
- Unicorn - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 10:25 am:
More of this please!
- anon - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 10:40 am:
These volunteers are not paid and save taxpayers money because the jail is less violent. They are responding to Jesus in Matthew 25 who urged his followers to visit the prisoner. How many Christ-followers have done that?
- Sick & Tired - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 10:42 am:
Amazing things happen when you treat people like human beings as opposed to caged, hopeless animals.
- Chicago Cynic - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 10:51 am:
Tom Dart quietly becoming an amazing innovator as Sheriff. I know some folks on this blog don’t like him but it’s hard to argue with the results from some of his efforts.
- Anonymous - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 10:57 am:
When the Spirit of the Lord is involved, just stand back a marvel.
I know I do!
- WhoKnew - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 10:57 am:
Anonymous - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 10:57 am: as ME!
Darn new configs!
- 47th Ward - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 11:02 am:
Memo to the so-called Orange Crush at IDOC:
You’re doing it wrong.
- chiatty - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 11:21 am:
Everybody needs hope. It’s nice to see committed volunteers helping administer some hope to a group of people that many would deem utterly hopeless. Dart is a good man who really works at his job.
- phocion - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 11:24 am:
Great, amazing, inspirational. Thanks for sharing.
- Union Man - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 11:29 am:
Way to go Willowcreek Community Church!
- Ghost - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 11:43 am:
I wish they would do more mentoring big brother/sister kinds thing with the kids in juvenille detention.
- Ghost - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 11:44 am:
great idea here too need more of it, especillay at Tams. one of the downside to rural prisons, not a lot
of other stuff around
- Dirty Red - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 11:50 am:
Good on Dart for staffing up with good people and then trusting them to enable good work.
- @MisterJayEm - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 12:16 pm:
Humanity can address the problem of inhumanity?
Whodduhthunkit?
– MrJM
- crazybleedingheart - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 12:19 pm:
==Humanity can address the problem of inhumanity?
Whodduhthunkit?==
Apparently, not Dart.
- Anon - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 12:57 pm:
I suppose props to Dart could be due for simply allowing this to happen, but this is not a Sheriff’s Office program or other government program. This is a church ministry based entirely on evangelism and scripture study. I’ve always argued to friends and conservatives in the church that most social programs could be eliminated if the church (universal - not any particular denomination) would step in and do what the New Testament spells out.
- Anonymous - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 3:25 pm:
Happened in Brazil, too, in the 1990’s when a whole prison was handed over to a Christian organization.
Prison Fellowship wrote about it.
- Mama - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 5:20 pm:
- 47th Ward @ 11:02 am:
I hope the guards get your message!
- wordslinger - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 6:08 pm:
–The Malachi Dads program originated in a Louisiana State Penitentiary, the notorious Angola prison.–
The concept has been around a while. I can recall a PBS doc on the Angola group about ten years ago.
- Anonymous - Monday, Mar 14, 16 @ 7:56 pm:
More like this please