Stats from the McLean County Jail, accurate as of March 21st, 2023:
Jail population: 216
Proportions by gender: are female: 35 (16%) are male: 181 (84%)
Proportions by race: Black: 110 (50%) Other Minority: 13 (6%) Persons of a Colonial Complexion: 96 (44%)
Number of people over 50: 25 (12%) Number of people sentenced: 13 (6%) Number of people pretrial (felony): 186 (86%) Number of people pretrial (misdemeanors): 8 (4%) Number of people pretrial for drug offenses: 67 (31%) Number of out of county residences: 68 (31%) Number of people prescribed mental health medication: 65 (30%)
Average Population Data between December 1st, 2022-March 21st, 2023
What did Foucault have to say about the Gulag Question?
In the late 1970s, as the revelations of the brutality of the Gulags in the USSR became common knowledge, some Leftists attempted to use French Philosopher Michel Foucault’s writings on the prison system to explain away the reality of the Gulag. They would claim, “Everyone has their own Gulag, the Gulag is here at our door, in our cities, our hospitals, our prisons, it’s here in our heads.” While Foucault agreed that the technologies of the Gulag share a history with other forms of incarceration in the West, the politics which lead to the creation of the Gulags were very different than other forms of incarceration. Foucault believes the the problem of the Gulag is a unique to socialist states, and therefore, it requires a critique of the very principles of socialism.
The Safe-T Act, HB 3653, omnibus criminal justice law signed into law in 2021.
The members of CIRC & Afro-SOC BloNo support this law, and so do the working people of our communities. We strongly encourage you to support the reforms made by the law and do everything in your power to implement the changes with equity. Furthermore, public officials should be mindful that the working people of Illinois support efforts toward increased police accountability, transparency, and reform. The public also desires alternative institutions to address public safety. We are certain that the guidance we are providing will help to establish expectations for these domains. This guidance carefully explains what the law says, what it doesn’t say, and best practices on how to implement this law at the local level here in Illinois.
[FULL DISCLOSURE: The editor of Agitation Rising News is a founding member of CIRC.]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!
January 22, 2022
The Central Illinois Research Collective (CIRC) supports the new criminal justice reform law, HB 3653, signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2021. Our organization strongly supports the principles of this law like police transparency, accountability, and alternatives to policing.
Central Illinois Research Collective (CIRC) logo
We are releasing this guidance to assist local municipalities in properly interpreting & implementing HB 3653. We believe it is important for public officials to know that our membership supports this legislation. We encourage public officials to embrace these reforms & implement them to the best of their abilities. Furthermore, our organization is looking to hold public officials accountable when it comes to this responsibility.
Our organization is co-hosting a Virtual Town Hall on Saturday, February 5th, 2022 at 1:00 PM with the AfroSocialists and Socialists of Color of Bloomington-Normal to explain the guidance in greater detail. This law has left much controversy and questions around how it will be implemented throughout Illinois. This law is much more than just the Pretrial Fairness Act. This event hopes to bring clarity to the important nuances of the law. Our Town Hall will also address follow-up laws adjusting HB 3653.
The insufferable Sheriff Jon Sandage has announced he will not be seeking re-election for a third term in 2022. Sheriff Sandage was first elected in 2014. He came to the decision after “after extensive thought and discussions with family.
“I have had the honor of serving the citizens of McLean County for 30 years, the last 6 and a half as sheriff, in one of the best departments in the state of Illinois. This decision has not been an easy one as there are still many challenges ahead for our department, and I will face them with the same dedication and vigor as I have throughout my career. I am proud of the progress we have made in my two terms as Sheriff, and this has only been possible because of all the dedicated people I work with.
“I would like to thank my family and friends for their continued support, the citizens for their faith and trust in me and our department, my staff for their hard work and professionals, but most of all, I want to thank my wife and children who have sacrificed in order to allow me to pursue the profession I love.”
268,000 people are incarcerated by the federal government, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. 32%, or 85,000, are being held in privately-run prisons. 55,000 federal inmates are held in privately-operated prisons for non-immigrant related offenses. They make up 20% of the total federal incarcerated population that will eventually be moved to public prisons or released.
No word yet from President Biden on why he left out immigrants from this executive order.
Of the 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States, less than 9% are held in privately-operated facilities. A majority of those incarcerated in private prisons are not in the Federal system, but state & local institutions.
