John Howard Association of Illinois

10/14/2026

Meet our intern! Bohan Pan is a sophomore at Northwestern University studying Social Policy and History. Passionate about restorative justice, she is a volunteer for the Northwestern Prison Education Program and hopes to pursue a career in civil rights law after graduation. She is excited to join the JHA this fall as an intern. Welcome Bohan!

10/08/2026

A gift from your Donor Advised Fund is one of the easiest and most tax-efficient ways to give. Why not consider giving JHA a gift from your DAF today?

As we celebrate 125 years of impact this year, every donation helps fuel JHA’s future - and ensures we can continue shining a light on closed, carceral spaces and holding Illinois prisons accountable for the people in their care. Thank you for your partnership.

10/02/2026

Congratulations to JHA's David Staples for receiving an award from the State of Illinois for his service as and commitment to being a Rock Island Downtown Alliance Ambassador. David is shown here with State Rep. Gregg Johnson.

"Those who need the services, they don't always know where to find the particular services that's available," said David Staples, an outreach member for the team. "They don't always know how to access them. I'm sort of a liaison between the resources and the people that need it." (WHBF Davenport)

09/29/2026

Election day in Illinois is Tuesday November 3rd. Online voting registration is open until October 18th. Learn more about voting eligibility and registration at https://bit.ly/JHA-voting-rights

09/28/2026

It is important that we expose and understand the realities inside our prisons in order to move the system in a more humane and productive direction.

Increasing transparency into the realities of prison conditions, treatment, available programming, and the dynamics and relationships that fuel facility culture and the safety of people inside is how we begin to hold Illinois accountable for the health, safety, and well-being of people who are incarcerated and improve outcomes for everyone.

09/24/2026

JHA is thrilled that some Cook County Commissioners are considering and supporting the need for independent oversight over the Cook County Jail – oversight identifies issues and proposes solutions that often prevent small problems from becoming larger ones. It is a tool that can actually prevent litigation as well as improve the health, safety, and well-being of the people being held and the people that work in the facility.

Independent oversight is critical to closed systems that lack transparency. We hope that commissioners consider this when the resolution comes up for a vote.

“The resolution states that the Board “expresses support for an independent review of the Cook County Jail by an independent and external organization, focusing on the health, safety and wellness of the detainees and conditions of confinement.””

At least 85 people died while detained in Cook County Jail between 2019 and 2025. That’s more than a third of all jail-related deaths statewide during that time.

09/23/2026

ONE MONTH AWAY! Join JHA on Friday October 23rd for our 125th Anniversary Celebration - buy your tickets today!

We have an exciting speaker line up including keynote Larry Miller of the Jordan Brand at Nike; he will be joined in conversation by Luke Tanen of Chicago Innovation. Plus, we'll be treated to a spoken word performance by Sandra Brown of The Women's Justice Institute - WJI.

You won't want to miss this event! www.thejha.org/125

09/18/2026

What did we hear from people inside Illinois' prisons last quarter? Read our new report: https://bit.ly/PC-Q226

JHA believes it is critical to continuously make the Agency aware of the issues, concerns, problems, and emergent situations people inside share with us. Our goals? To increase transparency and improve the health, safety, and well-being of people in custody.

We also think it is important to share what we learn with our network of advocates, partners, supporters, and system-impacted individuals. The more we all raise these issues and seek response from IDOC, the harder it is to ignore the systemic and individual problems we bring to their attention.

09/17/2026

"We shouldn’t be relying on people’s better natures to do things that they are required to do by law,” Vollen-Katz said. “We should strengthen our laws so that compliance is taken seriously and enforced and we have oversight bodies that are able to devote the time necessary to making sure that this is happening.”"

“The principal challenge is that deaths-in-custody reporting depends on information submitted by different agencies, each with their own personnel, procedures, and recordkeeping systems. Reports may be delayed, incomplete, or contain information that differs from other available records,” Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority said in a statement. More from the Illinois Answers Project ⬇️