 The governor's overhaul ensures that public safety always comes
first and that the meritorious credit program assists in the
punishment and rehabilitation of offenders, while saving the state
money during an unprecedented economic crisis. The changes are based
on initial recommendations from Erickson, who continues his review
of the meritorious credit program."My mandate to the Department
of Corrections is and always has been: Public safety is the top
priority," Quinn said. "An overhaul of the Department of
Corrections' statutory program guarantees my commitment to safety
while also making adjustments needed to improve the program's
operations."
Quinn's overhaul includes four major areas:
Meritorious credit standards -- Quinn previously suspended
and is now terminating the Department of Corrections' recently
accelerated meritorious credit program referred to as "MGT Push,"
which did not require inmates to spend at least 61 days in
Department of Corrections custody before being credited with any
meritorious credit. While the 61-day custody requirement had been a
long-standing practice within the Department of Corrections, it is
not a formal law or agency rule and was reduced by the department in
September. In order to ensure that an offender serves at least that
amount of time in state custody before being credited with any
meritorious credit, the 61-day requirement has been reinstated as a
formal agency rule.
Enhancing communication with local authorities -- Quinn is
ordering the Department of Corrections to provide local prosecutors
with advance notice of at least 14 days before releasing an inmate
into mandatory supervision under the meritorious credit program or
into home custody under the separate electronic detention program.
This advance notice requirement will provide local authorities with
sufficient opportunity to appropriately respond to and disseminate
notices.
Improve the law -- Quinn will work with members of the
General Assembly to develop initiatives that will prohibit dangerous
criminals from being eligible for a meritorious credit program.
Presently, Illinois law dictates that those convicted of DUIs and
certain crimes against individuals must be included in a meritorious
credit program, along with those convicted of lesser offenses.
Bolster IDOC operations -- Quinn will further improve the
reporting and communications between his office and the Department
of Corrections. The governor will soon name a chief public safety
officer at IDOC, who will be responsible for overseeing
implementation of the meritorious credit and electronic detention
programs. In addition, Quinn will name a public safety liaison
officer for the governor's office who will assist in the oversight,
coordination and implementation of those programs. This position
will work within the general counsel for the governor's office.
In addition, Quinn appointed retired Judge Gino L. DiVito to the
Sentencing Policy Advisory Council. The council, part of the Crime
Reduction Act signed into law in August, will review sentencing
policies and practices and examine their effect on the Illinois
criminal justice system. The council is composed of 18 members and
is required to submit an annual report to the governor and the
General Assembly.
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DiVito has been involved in the Illinois criminal justice system
since his graduation from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law
in 1963. He served for eight years on the Illinois Appellate Court
1st District's 2nd Division, has taught at Loyola University of
Chicago School of Law for more than three decades and is a founding
partner of Tabet DiVito & Rothstein, where he has worked since 2001.
(Background
information)
The review headed by Erickson has found that under MGT Push, the
recently accelerated meritorious credit program, 1,718 inmates were
either released into mandatory supervision, transferred into the
custody of another jurisdictional authority or, in the case of three
of the inmates, were not subject to mandatory supervision as a
matter of law or by an order of the courts. On average, these 1,718
inmates served 37 days less than they would have under the prior
61-day meritorious credit program. Even under the 61-day meritorious
credit program, 1,392 inmates (81 percent of those 1,718) would have
been released by Dec. 30 and all would have been released by the end
of January.
Erickson, a senior lecturer in law at Chicago-Kent College of
Law, is a former judge and prosecutor. An unpaid adviser to the
governor, Erickson is conducting a top-to-bottom review of the
meritorious credit program, along with Jerome Stermer, Quinn's chief
of staff, and Theodore Chung, general counsel to the governor.
"The meritorious credit system was created nearly 32 years ago
for a different time and penal system," said Erickson. "We've made a
number of early recommendations to help fix a system that has broken
down. More recommendations will be made that will protect the public
while preserving the integrity of the criminal justice system and
the court's sentencing of offenders."
The Illinois Department of Corrections was established in 1970.
When IDOC began, Illinois operated only seven adult facilities.
Since that time, stricter laws have resulted in increased sentencing
and longer terms. To address this steady increase in the inmate
population, the agency today operates 28 adult correctional centers
as well as various work camps, boot camps and eight adult transition
centers.
IDOC's recommended budget is $1.28 billion for fiscal 2010. The
agency employs approximately 11,000 employees and is responsible for
the management of 45,000 adult inmates.
In Illinois the rate of recidivism, a tendency to relapse into
criminal behavior, was 51.3 percent in fiscal 2009, and 47 percent
of DOC inmates serve six months or less.
For more information on IDOC, visit
http://www.idoc.state.il.us/.
[Text from
news release from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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