1 week Ago By Charlotte West
An Illinois judge cleared the way Wednesday for a broader legal challenge to how state prison officials have been calculating sentence reductions, potentially affecting hundreds of incarcerated people who say they should have been released from prison already because they participated in rehabilitative programs. The ruling gives the go-ahead to a statewide lawsuit against Illinois Department of Corrections Acting Director Latoya Hughes, expanding what started as one prisoner’s complaint filed without the help of an attorney. The lawsuit challenges the way the prison system has implemented a change in law meant to give people more time off their sentences for participating in work and education programs.
That change went into effect in January. Almost a year later, some incarcerated individuals say they still haven’t received proper credit for participating in eligible programs. Some of them have been participating in these activities for decades.
“Now that the court has allowed us to move forward with our complaint ...
we hope that people will finally be credited with the good conduct credits they have earned, and that the Department of Corrections will stop delaying and will finally begin to comply with the laws duly enacted by the legislature,” said Alan Mills, executive director of the civil rights law firm Uptown People’s Law Center. A WBEZ and Open Campus investigation in April found that poor recordkeeping and inconsistent implementation of the law has especially harmed people who have been incarcerated since the 1990s. Many of IDOC’s records only go back to 2010, when the corrections department switched to a new digital information system.
The investigation also found uneven application of the law; in one case, officials accepted trust fund records as proof of program participation for Richard McConnell and released him from prison in April but denied similar documentation from others. By June, some incarcerated individuals resorted to hunger strikes to force prison officials to review their cases. Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill.
Manuel Martinez/WBEZ In May, prisoner Eric Wright, who has been incarcerated since 1994, filed a case against the Illinois corrections department. Last month, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Uptown People’s Law Center joined his case in an effort to use it as the vehicle for the broader class action. The amended complaint alleges IDOC has “instituted a policy and practice of prohibiting the retroactive award of credit for programs completed or engaged in prior to 2010” and has not granted credits, despite the fact that plaintiffs can prove their participation.
The Illinois Department of Corrections previously stated it would review documentation if people possess evidence they deserve additional credits. The complaint also alleges that the department has not awarded full credit for more recent programs. According to the complaint, the law entitles incarcerated individuals day-for-day credit for participating in full-time programs like education and work assignments.
One plaintiff, Ronald Thiele, had received only 431 days of credit for programs completed after 2010, even though he attended various educational programs for approximately 433 days between 2011 and 2016, as well as various work assignments for approximately 838 days from 2016 to 2021, according to the complaint — totaling 1,271 potential days of credit. With a projected parole date of July 2025, he would be eligible for immediate release if he received all potential credits. The Illinois Department of Corrections did not comment on the class suit, citing the pending litigation.
As of Nov. 1, approximately 2,017 individuals have had their sentencing credits reviewed under the new law. Of those reviewed, 1,239 remain in custody and 778 have been released.
Charlotte West is a reporter covering the future of postsecondary education in prisons for Open Campus , a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education. Sign up for her newsletter, College Inside ..
