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RAUNER
SIGNS BILL TO DISCOURAGE INCARCERATION FOR LOW-LEVEL OFFENDERS WITH NO
PRIOR VIOLENT CONVICTIONS
Illinois Policy Institute
Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed into law
Senate Bill 3164, which requires a court to review a presentencing
report and explain why incarceration is appropriate prior to imposing a
prison sentence on a Class 3 or Class 4 felony offender with no prior
violent convictions.
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 On Aug. 19, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law Senate Bill 3164, which
discourages incarceration for low-level offenders. The new law prevents a judge
from imposing a prison sentence on a Class 3 or Class 4 felony offender who has
no prior probation or convictions for violent crimes unless the judge reviews a
presentencing report and explains why incarceration is appropriate.
This act enshrines in law a presumption against incarceration for low-level
offenders with no prior violent convictions; as such, it should save Illinois
taxpayers money, reduce dangerous prison overcrowding, and improve low-level
offenders’ likelihood of holding jobs and staying away from crime. It should
also move Illinois closer toward the governor’s goal of reducing the state’s
prison population by 25 percent by 2025.
Avoiding routine incarceration of nonviolent offenders with no prior violent
convictions is a smart way to conserve public safety resources, especially given
that in 2015, nearly 60 percent of offenders newly admitted to Illinois prisons
for Class 3 and Class 4 felonies had no prior convictions for violent crimes,
according to a press release issued by the governor’s office in March.
Incarceration costs Illinois taxpayers nearly $22,000 per inmate, which amounted
to $1.4 billion spent on Illinois prisons in fiscal year 2015. Channeling prison
dollars toward more serious public safety threats is a more cost-effective use
of taxpayer funds.
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 And keeping lower-level offenders out of Illinois prisons should
alleviate some of the logistical and safety problems of the nation’s
most overcrowded prison system. Illinois prisons housed nearly
45,000 inmates as of June 2016, in a system approved to hold just
32,000. Addressing more low-level offenses through probation or
other conditional release is a sensible approach to reducing this
unsafe prison overcrowding.
Even more important, handling low-level offenses without resorting
to incarceration can prevent the cycle of joblessness and recidivism
that can trap low-level offenders and keep them from becoming
law-abiding, productive members of their communities.
Not surprisingly, Illinoisans support sensible measures to safely
reduce the state’s prison population. A recent Illinois Policy
Institute-commissioned poll of 500 Illinois registered voters found
74 percent of the respondents – strong majorities of Republicans,
Democrats and Independents – believe prisons should be used
primarily for violent offenders.
The signing of SB 3164 should help the state move closer to that
ideal.
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