By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The idea of putting people into prisons is that, some day, they will get out and become better citizens.

Some people actually believe that and are trying to make it work. 

“For me, and I am 35 years old,” said State Sen. Robert Peters (D-Chicago), who is Black, “I’ve been feeling like we have had the same conversations and the same press conferences about public safety my entire existence, and I feel like we are having the same results over and over again.”

Kathy Saltmarsh, executive director of the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Board, says it’s often hard to break the cycle.

“One of the truisms is that if you are sentenced to prison once,” Saltmarsh said, “you are far more likely to get prison a second or third time, even if you commit a crime that is probation eligible.”

A joint committee hearing tackled some “tough-on-crime” strategies, such as three-strikes, mandatory minimums, and truth-in-sentencing. These policies keep the prison headcount up. In Illinois, Saltmarsh says, there are only about 31,000 inmates, already exceeding a 25-year strategy begin by former Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].