June 2, 2023
The Honorable J.B. Pritzker, Governor
207 Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
Dear Governor Pritzker,
On behalf of the organizations signed on to this letter, we respectfully ask for you to sign Senate Bill 422 into law. SB 422 is a thoughtful measure, passed with bipartisan support, to digitize Illinois Department of Corrections’ data collection and remove the outdated, burdensome paper filing process that is time consuming and wasteful.
SB 422, spearheaded by Sen. Rachel Ventura and Rep. Justin Slaughter, will help streamline Illinois Department of Corrections’ outdated master record file data collection process by digitizing all records through a series of implementation deadlines prior to 2030. The proposal is a mandate only in that the appropriate funding, as determined by the Illinois Department of Corrections and Illinois Department of Technology, is made available by the Illinois General Assembly for a series of implementation dates for different sets of records.
The bill segments the implementation into first updating intake processes and digitizing new information collected by 2025. The second step is to digitize all medical and dental records by 2027. Lastly, the bill will require all records, specifically records already on hand or backlogged, be digitized by 2029.
Digitizing the master records file will be major improvements that will provide benefits to those incarcerated but also reduce burdensome paper record keeping processes on department staff. In turn, other progressive policies such as the ban on prison gerrymandering will benefit from digital records that are easily accessible and accurate. In order for many of the improvements for the Illinois Department of Corrections to work, it is imperative that the records collected by the department be transparent and accessible. Therefore, digitizing them is a must and so we again urge you to sign SB 422 into law.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this important legislation.
Sincerely,
Grace Pai
Executive Director
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago
Madeleine Doubek
Executive Director
CHANGE Illinois Action Fund
Cliff Helm
Senior Council
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
Jay Young
Executive Director
Common Cause Illinois
Roberto Valdez, Jr.
Midwest Policy Director
Hispanic Federation
Avalon Betts-Gatson
Project Manager
Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice
Patrice James
Executive Director
Illinois Black Advocacy Initiative
Nick Rohm
Prison Policy Manager
John Howard Association
Allyson Haut, Ph.D.
Executive Director
League of Women Voters of Illinois
Dr. Dilara Sayeed
President
Muslim Civic Coalition
Asiaha Butler
Co-Founder & CEO
R.A.G.E – Resident Association of Greater Englewood
Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr.
Founder & President
Bishop Tavis Grant
Acting National Executive Director
Rainbow PUSH
Raul Raymundo
Executive Director
The Resurrection Project
Louisa Manske
Policy Director
Workers Center for Racial Justice