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* Gov. Bruce Rauner’s work on criminal justice reform has been highly commendable and even historic. He attended his criminal justice commission’s meeting yesterday…

Commissioners are still working to reach Rauner’s goal of reducing Illinois’ inmate population by 12,000 men and women over the next decade. They have delivered their first set of recommendations, and Rauner told commissioners he was excited about the report, calling it “excellent.”

“What I can guarantee you: I will work tirelessly to make sure this isn’t just something that just gathers dust,” he said. “I’m going to implement this.”

Rauner is the first sitting Illinois governor to have visited state prisons in years. He said they’re harsh, hostile places — but they don’t have to be that way. […]

Rauner said “everyone makes mistakes” and “everyone deserves a second chance.”

* And how refreshing is this candor from a politician?…

The group suggests more training for officers at every level, especially when dealing with race.

The Governor applauds that suggestion.

“I don’t think there’s any question that there’s bias in the system. I mean, the system is built by human beings and human beings have biases. We all do and some of them are more harmful than others and we’ve got to be honest about it and it’s really hard to be honest about it. This is a tough set of issues, but to serve the people of Illinois well we have to talk about it and not be afraid to talk about it,” said Gov. Rauner.

* But I wish he’d put as much thought into other vitally important issues as he obviously has on this one...

“I think everyone’s big concern is, as we do this, some of these things are going to require resources, and resources means money, and I think that’s just a point of anxiety,” said Brendan Kelley, St. Clair County state’s attorney.” […]

“There’s no question that sometimes to save money in the long run requires spending more money in the short run, and in Illinois, we haven’t been doing that for years,” Rauner said. “We’ve always taken the short-run decision, what cuts costs now and not what saves significant resources over a longer term. We’ve got to change that mindset.”

The governor added that the goal is to move the corrections system away from simply housing offenders and keeping them away from the public, and to focus on effective rehabilitation, such as substance abuse training, mental health treatment and counseling to ensure those offenders don’t make the same mistakes again.

“If we can implement (the commission’s) recommendations, I firmly believe that we can have the people of Illinois safer,” Rauner said. “I believe we can save taxpayer money, and most importantly, I believe we can help those who made mistakes lead productive lives and come back as productive, full citizens who are enhancing the quality of life for everyone in all of our communities around Illinois.”

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 9:27 am

Comments

==Rauner said “everyone makes mistakes” and “everyone deserves a second chance.”==

I think we just heard Brucie’s 2018 campaign slogan.

Comment by Gruntled University Employee Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 9:33 am
The real kudos belong to the Commission members. Many hours of time, effort and very thoughtful discussion were spent on drafting the recommendations.

Comment by Politix Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 9:34 am
And the money to pay for this will come from the turn around agenda.

Comment by Huh? Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 9:34 am
cog·ni·tive dis·so·nance

noun PSYCHOLOGY

The state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.

Comment by PublicServant Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 9:35 am
This looks like good planning. I am no expert, but I applaud thinking of being smarter.
But smarter planning would include a master financial plan. Anyone with a CEO / corporate leadership background would agree.
Adding more spending, or even re-prioritizing spending without a budget is irresponsible.
When will the Gov admit that this has to be a priority (no matter how much responsibility also belongs to Dems)?

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 9:38 am
Sounds Good! This makes his other governing behaviors seems so much worse. I truly wish that this level of compassion and concern would be directed towards all of the people of Illinois. Makes me think that he actually could govern if he chose.

Comment by Niblets Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 9:39 am
Did anyone remember to mention this on the list of Rauner’s achievements earlier this week?

Because it is noteworthy.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 9:39 am
Rauner should, post-haste, issue a mass pardon of non-violent offenders incarcerated for marijuana.

Comment by Just Observing Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 9:52 am
I hate to be such a cynical s.o.b., but I can’t help but wonder if Rauner’s commitment to criminal justice reform and shrinking the size of the prison population is as much about shrinking the size and influence of AFSCME as it is about actual reform.

I can imagine a conversation like this occurring two years ago when someone told Rauner there were Republican union members all over downstate Illinois:

“Republican union members!?”
“Yes, Mr. Rauner. Many of them are correctional officers at state prisons.”
“Well, we’ll have to do something about that.”

Comment by PhD Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 9:56 am
Good on our Governor–this is great stuff. When I think how many good things he could accomplish I feel cheated by his destructive methods.

Comment by Earnest Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 10:00 am
Right now I am just viewing this as a bunch of empty rhetoric. The prison system is not busting at the seems with folks incarcerated for marijuana possession, the population is more complex than that. And without strong community based programming in behavioral health, he is not going to be able to meet his otherwise worthy goals. Yet he proposed slashing the budgets for those community programs, and many of them are not currently being funded because of the lack of a budget. Until the Governor, himself, begins to show some level of recognition that there are symbiotic relationships with other programs outside DOC, DJJ, CJIA that are going to be critical players in whether his efforts are successful, I chalk this up to someone on staff giving him the right things to say, but not much more than that.

Comment by Juice Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 10:15 am
==“I believe we can save taxpayer money, and most importantly, I believe we can help those who made mistakes lead productive lives and come back as productive, full citizens who are enhancing the quality of life for everyone in all of our communities around Illinois.”== The prisons do not have vocational training programs or even AA & NA meetings for the drug addicts. DOC websites state they have rehab programs, & maybe they did at one time, but no programs now. How does he plan to rehabilitate the prisoners?

Comment by Mama Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 10:18 am
His batting average on pardons doesn’t equate to giving second chances.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 10:27 am
Deeds, not words.

This one is his biggest scam yet.

Comment by crazybleedingheart Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 10:49 am
===Deeds, not words.===

And lots of bills were signed into law last year on this topic.

So, yeah, I agree with you, and deeds are being done. What are you doing?

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 10:53 am
Heh.

Comment by crazybleedingheart Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 11:06 am
Q: how close is the Commission to 25%?

Comment by crazybleedingheart Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 11:47 am
Deeds?

Lutheran Social Services does more to reduce Illinois’ prison population in a week than the Governor did all last year. Nevertheless…

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 12:17 pm
Ding, ding, ding.

Also, my Q about % isn’t rhetorical.

Rauner may be correct that the report is “excellent.” What it is not is a set of recommendations that will decrease IDOC population by a single soul.

Comment by crazybleedingheart Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 12:30 pm
Legalize marijuana totally, not just decriminalize it. Release non-violent inmates put in prison on a marijuana charge who have no prior record

Comment by Payback Friday, Jan 15, 16 @ 1:41 pm