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 Gov. Bruce Rauner signed Senate Bill 3005 into law Aug. 22, amending the
Illinois Park District Code to allow ex-offenders with certain specified drug
offenses on their records to apply for employment with a park district seven
years after completing a prison sentence or probation.
Previously, Illinois law prohibited park district employment for anyone with a
conviction for certain drug offenses.
SB 3005 was one of five criminal justice reform bills the governor signed into
law Aug. 22, aimed at reducing recidivism and providing opportunities for
ex-offenders.
 Allowing nonviolent ex-offenders a better chance to re-enter the workforce is
key to reducing crime and recidivism rates. The lack of employment opportunities
leads many ex-offenders to return to crime, and the state’s high recidivism rate
carries heavy social and financial costs for communities and taxpayers.
Incarceration alone costs taxpayers nearly $22,000 per inmate each year,
totaling $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2015. And despite the steep cost, the
corrections system is ineffective at helping inmates turn away from crime: Over
45 percent of offenders in Illinois released from prison each year will have
returned three years later. Illinois taxpayers will pay approximately $5.7
billion for recidivism costs over the next five years if the recidivism rate
remains the same. And that’s not even counting the costs borne by crime victims
or the losses from foregone economic activity.
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 Eliminating barriers to work for ex-offenders will help alleviate
the burden on taxpayers, as well as give ex-offenders a better
chance at rehabilitation and becoming productive members of society.
Illinoisans of all political stripes agree. A recent Illinois Policy
Institute-commissioned poll of 500 Illinois registered voters found
76 percent of respondents believe ex-offenders should have access to
occupational licenses.
Rauner has aimed to reduce the state’s prison population 25 percent
by 2025, which will relieve pressure on the state’s dangerously
overcrowded prisons and save taxpayers money. Clearing employment
barriers for ex-offenders through measures such as SB 3005 is a good
step toward this goal.
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