* Press Release…

State Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, Chairperson of the Illinois House Appropriations-Public Safety Committee, is seeking answers from the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) following a report which details how people incarcerated in at least one IDOC facility say their applications for legally-earned ‘good time’ sentence reduction credits are being improperly ignored, delayed and denied by IDOC officials, including allegedly for political reasons.

“This is a nation of laws, and we need to be assured that personnel at correctional facilities are doing their jobs. And following the law is a big part of that,” Mayfield said. “Correctional officers have a tough job that certainly has to be done, and it’s important for them to know they have support. But that cannot and should not mean that we look the other way if and when standards are not being met.”

One senior IDOC official at a correctional facility in Galesburg allegedly stated while being interviewed that criminal justice reforms were responsible for rising crime rates, while also allegedly citing his personal opinion as justification for arbitrarily refusing to consider applications for sentence credits by people incarcerated there, who he allegedly referred to as “criminals”. That official denied these allegations.

The ‘good time’ credits, which are officially known as Earned Program Sentence Credits or Earned Discretionary Sentence Credits, are the result of an expansion in possible sentence credits for certain incarcerated people as part of the SAFE-T Act, which Mayfield helped pass in 2021.

“Incarcerated people are still people. Their rights are important, including their right not to remain imprisoned after the law says that they are eligible for release,” Mayfield said. “If people are not being released from incarceration when they should be, then we need to get to the bottom of why, make the necessary adjustments and ensure that there is accountability. I am continuing to monitor this issue and I will keep asking questions until we get satisfactory answers.”

* Prism originally reported on this topic…

The SAFE-T Act was signed into law in January 2021, enacting sweeping criminal legal reforms such as eliminating cash bail and establishing a new process to decertify cops. While the legislation was mainly focused on pre-trial reforms, a small part of the bill gave incarcerated people a new pathway to release. The day the law went into effect, on July 1, 2021, at Hill Correctional Center (Hill CC), dozens immediately filed for the Earned Program Sentence Credits (EPSC) and Earned Discretionary Sentence Credits (EDSC) to which they were newly entitled. […]

Incarcerated paralegal Doiakah Gray told Prism that in November 2021, he had a conversation with Hill CC’s Clinical Services Supervisor Chad A. Schuldt—who’s responsible for approving good time credits—in which he said Schuldt expressed a belief that criminal legal reform was increasing crime, and “refused to release criminals into the street.”

In a written response to Gray that has been reviewed by Prism, Schuldt said the comments were inaccurate and that his “personal opinion has no bearing on the eligibility of whether someone meets the criteria for award or not.” He also concluded that Gray’s submission did not meet the criteria for awarding credits, and no further review was warranted.

Gray subsequently filed a grievance against Schuldt for retaliation and an “inordinate delay” in processing his credit request in the same month. In December 2021, Schuldt responded to Gray, “It does appear you are eligible for HB 0094 credits,” followed by a form response again delaying the review of Gray’s HB 3653 credits.

* Qualifying for sentence credits under the SAFE-T Act…

Earned Discretionary Sentence Credit (EDSC)

• Up to 180 days of EDSC can be awarded for individuals serving a sentence of less than five years
• Up to 365 days of EDSC can be awarded for individuals serving a sentence of five or more years
• This can be approved for individuals in custody before July 1 as well. Therefore, those who are serving a sentence of 5 years more can be awarded 365 days when these changes go in effect July 1. Those who already received time can be reviewed for additional time if they meet criteria.
• NOTE: Lists are generated for the facility as to who needs to be reviewed. There is no application process for EDSC. An individual does not need to ask to be reviewed.

Earned Programs Sentence Credit

• Adds Participation/compliance in work release/ATC programs/activities to eligible EPSC categories
• Changes EPSC to day- for- day credit for Substance Use Treatment, Illinois Correctional Industries, Education, Behavior Modification, Life Skills, Reentry Planning, and Work release/ATC programming and compliance
• EPSC for individuals who participate in IDOC approved self-improvement groups, volunteer work, or work assignments – shall receive 0.5 days credit for every day engaged in activities.
• Self-improvement groups and volunteer work will need to be vetted by the statewide programs committee before being eligible for award of credit
• 120 days EPSC will be awarded for obtainment of an associate degree (retroactive timing as well for past degrees). They cannot have earned the degree prior to the current incarceration though.