Secretary of State helps launch first-of-its-kind state ID program for
inmates exiting Cook County Jail
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[December 12, 2023]
By HANNAH MEISEL
& BETH HUNDSDORFER
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com
CHICAGO – Certain detainees leaving Cook County jail will now be given a
state ID card upon release in a new pilot program announced Monday by
Sheriff Tom Dart and Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.
Inmates released from Illinois prisons have been receiving state IDs at
no charge since late 2020 when state leaders launched a pilot program,
which was subsequently expanded statewide and codified into state law
earlier this year. But doing the same with detainees in county jails has
proved much more difficult. Prison inmates have more stable and
predictable release dates, but jail detainees may stay for as long as
years while awaiting trial, or as short as just a few hours.
Regardless of how long a detainee stays in jail, however, Cook County
Sheriff Tom Dart said a state ID has consistently been at the “top of
the list” of needs that inmates reported to jail officials upon intake
“because it unlocks everything else.”
“I cannot tell you the number of times when we've talked to an employer
ready to hire this person — a well-paying job that will clearly steer
them in a different direction,” Dart said at a Monday morning news
conference. “And (they) say, ‘You know, Tom, everything's great. This is
good to go. Can you get us the ID?’ And then there's the long pause.
There is no (ID). We don't have it.”
Beyond getting a job, Dart said not having proper identification can
also prevent formerly incarcerated people from getting housing,
transportation or social services – the lack of which can significantly
increase the likelihood of a detainee reoffending.
“Equipping them with valid identification will help these individuals
with basic tasks, like locating housing, securing a job, opening a bank
account, and enrolling and assistance programs and obtaining reliable
transportation,” Giannoulias said Monday. “Fulfilling these basic needs
reduces recidivism, saves taxpayer money and makes all our communities
stronger."
Giannoulias acknowledged the paperwork – including birth certificates
and social security cards – necessary to get a state ID are already
difficult and costly to obtain if they’ve been lost, and said
“entrenched disparities” have historically made the task more difficult
for people of color even without the added challenge of incarceration.
Sodiqa Williams, senior vice president of reentry services at the
Chicago-based Safer Foundation, said formerly incarcerated people can
“lose hope” when running into repeated hurdles after release from jail
or prison.
“Every day matters when a person is released,” she said. “Whether it's
taking care of their kids, having their housing, losing their job, it is
very important. Time is of the essence.”
Although other states beyond Illinois have launched similar programs for
inmates leaving prisons and lawmakers have tried to create a similar
program for jails statewide, the Cook County jail ID pilot program is
the first of its kind in the nation, Dart said. While not all detainees
lack a state ID or license at the time of their arrest, it may have
expired while they’ve been in jail or been held for evidence, he said.
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Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, pictured right, explains how his
office will implement a program to offer state IDs to exiting
inmates. The program is a collaboration with Secretary of State
Alexi Giannoulias. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
The Cook County jail pilot program began Monday with inmates in the
county’s electronic monitoring program, as Dart said the jail has
“better data” on that population, as well as the support from probation
officers who are charged with keeping track of former detainees upon
release.
Dart said he’s been pushing for access to state IDs for detainees upon
release for 15 years. Asked Monday why the request hasn’t gone anywhere
before this year, Giannoulias – who was elected to the office last year
after former Secretary of State Jesse White’s 24-year tenure – demurred.
“Let's just say it was not the sheriff's office or the sheriff,” he
said. “So I'm not here to point fingers in the past. We're here today.
The sheriff reached out to us early on in the administration and we
found ways to work together and to make sure that this pilot program
runs as smoothly as possible.”
In two Metro East counties, sheriff’s department officials said while
their populations were smaller, detainees released from their facilities
face some of the same barriers.
In Madison County, Sheriff Jeff Connor said detainees without
identification is not a widespread issue there, but he welcomed any
effort to eliminate barriers to former detainees’ access to jobs and
services.
“I don’t see a downside to it,” Connor said.
In St. Clair County, detainees who enter county jail with cash receive a
check for that amount when they are discharged, said Sgt. James
Hendricks, a spokesperson for the department, but banks can refuse to
cash those checks without proper identification. In response, the
sheriff’s department started issuing debit cards for one-time use. The
fee for that service is covered by commissary profits.
Hendricks said the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department would welcome
efforts to expand the ID program downstate.
Scott Burnham, a spokesperson for Giannoulias, pointed to the existing
program in state prisons as an example of how the new jail initiative
might expand.
“So far this year, we have issued around 900 state IDs,” Burnham said.
A few months ago, the agency started a program with state-run juvenile
facilities to obtain identification for the youth who are released.
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