IDOC Opens Murphysboro Life Skills Re-Entry Center
Logan County earmarked for second center

[April 17, 2018] 

The Illinois Department of Corrections opened its second Life-Skills Re-entry Center today, aimed at helping offenders learn skills that will be critical to their success upon release.

The first 20 offenders were transferred to the Murphysboro Life Skills Re-entry Center, in Murphysboro, IL this morning. They’ll go through an orientation process and get acclimated to the new facility before starting educational, job readiness, and cognitive behavior therapy courses. They will also learn skills that help them readjust to society - like how to manage a bank account, use the latest technology, and schedule medical appointments.

“Everybody makes mistakes and everybody deserves a second chance to get it right,” said Governor Bruce Rauner. “We’re working to help people build better lives and stronger futures for their families. I’d like to thank staff at IDOC for working to get the facility open and for all the work they’ll do to equip these men with tools that will help give them a fresh start when they go home.”

“Our goal is to help build a strong foundation and stop the revolving door to prison,” said IDOC Director John Baldwin. “We’re improving outcomes for the men and women in our custody. When they return to their communities with the skills needed to reintegrate successfully, they will be better parents, better neighbors and better citizens overall.”

The Murphysboro facility is one of three Life Skills Reentry Centers slated to open in Illinois, as part of Governor Rauner’s plan to safely reduce the prison population and restructure the state’s criminal justice system. The first Life Skills Re-entry Center opened in Kewanee, Illinois in February of 2017.

The Department is working to launch another Life Skills Reentry Center for females at Logan Correctional Center. Offenders who have one to four years left on their sentence qualify for placement at the Life Skills Re-entry Centers.

[ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS]