This legislative session, Illinois lawmakers will vote on a critical bill that proposes urgently needed reform of the state's overly punitive felony theft law. By increasing the property value threshold for felony theft from $500 to $2000, HB 1614 would take a significant step towards reversing mass incarceration in Illinois. In order to advance this important piece of legislation, WCRJ is calling on our allies and supporters to take action.
Illinois’ overly punitive property theft laws have played a foundational role in driving the state’s inhumane and racially targeted practice of mass incarceration. The $500 property value baseline that triggers a felony theft charge in Illinois falls well below national norms, with 29 states setting thresholds at least twice as high. This excessively punitive policy results in the charging and sentencing of thousands of Illinoisans -- often accused of minor, poverty-based infractions -- each year. The overbroad classification of felony theft also exacerbates racial disparities in Illinois’ criminal justice system. In incidents of alleged property theft, law enforcement exercise wide discretion over which cases to charge, resulting in staggering racialized imbalances in the state’s felony theft conviction rates.
In the wake of a decades-long decline in local crime rates, 35 states have raised the felony theft threshold. Despite the baseline increase, these states witnessed a continued reduction in rates of property theft, confirming that overly punitive theft laws have no positive impact on public safety. To foster communities that are truly safe, lawmakers must end the state’s overreliance on prisons and aggressive law enforcement, which perpetuate racialized structural inequity and oppression.
Your voice is crucial to advancing the fight for racial equity, opportunity and justice. Advocate for the change you want to see in your city, state and beyond by visiting WCRJ’s Racial Justice Online Action Center and demanding policy action of your elected officials now.
This week in Springfield, members of the Illinois Senate will consider an important bill that aims to protect workers against racial discrimination. If enacted, SB 1485 would require the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) to establish a telephone hotline and online portal for workers impacted by racial discrimination and harassment to anonymously report and pursue complaints. In order to advance this critical piece of legislation, WCRJ is calling on our allies and supporters to take action.
In Illinois, the prevalence of racialized discrimination in the workplace has had devastating consequences for workers of color. The state's Black unemployment levels have remained the highest in the nation since 2016, with Black constituents facing joblessness at more than twice Illinois' average rate. When controlling for a wide range of employment factors, these staggering racialized disparities persist, establishing that elevated rates of Black unemployment are the direct result of widespread hiring discrimination. Moreover, in recent years, race-based wage discrimination in Illinois has risen to levels not seen in 40 years, with Black workers currently earning only 71% of white workers' take-home pay.
The overwhelming majority of labor discrimination and harassment cases go unreported, often due to a fear of retaliation or job loss. Illinois workers currently lack accessible resources to confidentially pursue workplace complaints. SB 1485 would offer employees a low threshold entry point, either online on by telephone, to anonymously report racial discrimination and harassment.
Your voice is crucial to advancing the fight for racial equity, opportunity and justice. Advocate for the change you want to see in your city, state and beyond by visiting WCRJ’s Racial Justice Online Action Center and demanding policy action of your elected officials now.
This week the Illinois Senate will consider a critical bill that would secure ballot access for tens of thousands of individuals held in pretrial detention across the state, as well as for Illinoisans returning from incarceration. If enacted, SB 2090 would establish a temporary polling branch within Cook County Jail and require all county jails throughout the state to implement programs allowing eligible inmates to vote by mail. The bill would also mandate prisons and jails to regularly provide inmates with accurate information on voting eligibility. Moreover, IDOC would be obligated to ensure that individuals are provided with a voter registration application upon release.
Current state policy does not adequately protect the voting rights of eligible constituents with current and previous involvement in the criminal justice system. Without robust enforcement of suffrage rights, the electoral interests of millions of residents held in pretrial detention are systematically suppressed by the state.
In 2005, Illinois amended its electoral policy to allow detained individuals awaiting trial to participate in elections. However, due to a lack of oversight, jails routinely restrict inmates' access to the ballot. In 2016, only 23 of the 109 Illinois election authorities show records of voting from jail. Black Illinoisans, who are disproportionately targeted by pretrial detention practices, are particularly impacted by jail voter suppression.
State election law extends voting eligibility to the four million previously incarcerated individuals residing in Illinois. However, research indicates that the overwhelming majority of community members with felony records are unaware of their right to vote, due to widespread misinformation. Hundreds of thousands of residents are thereby, in effect, systematically disenfranchised.
SB 2090 proposes important steps to better protect the voting rights of individuals impacted by the criminal justice system. By expanding voter registration, ballot access and eligibility awareness in jails and prisons, the bill would promote more equitable representation in the democratic process.
Your voice is crucial to advancing the fight for racial equity, opportunity and justice. Advocate for the change you want to see in your city, state and beyond by visiting WCRJ’s Racial Justice Online Action Center and demanding policy action of your elected officials now.