The lawsuit alleges that misapplication of the law is keeping people in Illinois prisons

An Illinois judge on Wednesday cleared the way for a broader legal challenge to how state prison officials calculated sentence reductions, potentially affecting hundreds of incarcerated people who say they should have already been released from prison because they took participation in rehabilitation programs.

The ruling authorizes a statewide lawsuit against Illinois Department of Corrections Acting Director Latoya Hughes, expanding what began as a single inmate’s complaint filed without a lawyer. The lawsuit calls into question the way the penitentiary system was implemented change in legislation designed to give people more free time to participate in work and educational programs. This change took effect in January.

Nearly a year later, some inmates say they still haven’t received proper credit for participating in the programs. Some of them have been participating in these activities for decades.

“Now that the court has allowed us to proceed with our complaint … we hope that people will finally get credit for the good behavior they’ve earned and that the Department of Corrections will stop stalling and finally start following the law. properly enacted by the legislature,” said Alan Mills, executive director of the civil rights law firm Uptown People’s Law Center.

WBEZ and Open Campus investigation in April found that poor record-keeping and inconsistent enforcement of the law particularly harms people who have been incarcerated since the 1990s. Many of the IDOC records date back only to 2010, when the Department of Corrections transitioned to a new digital information system.

The investigation also revealed uneven application of the law; in one case, officials accepted trust fund records as evidence of Richard McConnell’s involvement in the program and released him from prison in April, but denied similar documentation from others. Until June, some prisoners resorted to hunger strikes to force prison officials to review their files.

Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill.

In May, inmate Eric Wright, who has been incarcerated since 1994, filed a lawsuit against the Illinois Department of Corrections. Last month, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and the Uptown People’s Law Center joined his case in an effort to use it as a vehicle for a broader class action.

The amended complaint alleges that IDOC “implemented a policy and practice of not retroactively awarding credits for programs completed or engaged before 2010” and withheld the credits despite the plaintiffs being able to prove participation.

The Illinois Department of Corrections has previously said it will review records if people have evidence they deserve additional credit.

The complaint also alleges that the department did not award full credit for the latter programs. According to the complaint, the law entitles incarcerated individuals to daily credit for participating in full-time programs such as training and work assignments.

One claimant, Ronald Thiele, 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, and various work assignments for approximately 838 days from From 2016 to 2021, according to the complaint, there are only 1,271 potential credit days. With an anticipated parole date of July 2025, he will be eligible for immediate release if he receives all potential credits.

The Illinois Department of Corrections did not comment on the class action, citing pending litigation.

As of November 1, 2017, approximately 2,007 individuals had their convictions reviewed under the new law. Of those considered, 1,239 remain in custody, 778 have been released.

Charlotte West is a reporter covering the future of higher education in prisons Open campusa non-commercial editorial office specializing in higher education. Subscribe to her newsletter, College inside.