Illinois Prisons: Higher Ed Access Status Explored

Rebecca Ginsburg is the director of the Education Justice Project and a professor of education policy, organization and leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Ginsburg spoke with News Bureau research editor Sharita Forrest about a recent report released by the Illinois Department of Corrections that examined access to higher education programs for people who are incarcerated at Illinois prisons.

What was the impetus of this report and what does it tell us about college in prison programs at Illinois correctional facilities?

The Illinois Department of Corrections Higher Education Report was mandated by Illinois Public Act 103-0541, which was introduced by Illinois Representative Carol Ammons and went into effect January 1, 2024. I was an appointee to the 15-member Illinois Higher Education in Prison Task Force that submitted recommendations to the governor and Illinois General Assembly in 2022 on expanding these programs.

Under this law, every year the IDOC is required to collect the information and publish it, so we'll now be able to measure how well we're doing or not doing as a state in providing higher education to people who are in prison.

It's the first time we've had hard data about who actually is enrolled in the state's college prison programs. The current numbers aren't super encouraging. We didn't expect them to be. The report shows that there are 2,740 students enrolled in these programs and 2,047 on the waiting lists. And that's an underestimate because I know from personal experience many individuals who took themselves off the waiting list because they were on it for years.

How strong is the demand for postsecondary education among incarcerated people in Illinois?

The data indicate that about 15% of people in Illinois prisons are either on the waiting list or enrolled in postsecondary education. And 15% is a lot of interest. Many people who are incarcerated want to do something productive and increase their likelihood of obtaining a decent job upon release.

This semester we are teaching five for-credit courses, including Psychology 496, Computer Science 105, Education Policy 518, Creative Writing 463 and Math 117. These are in addition to the extracurricular programs that run each semester - community antiviolence education, language partners and mindfulness discussion group.

Aside from postrelease employment, what other benefits are there to college in prison programs?

The more people that are educated as much as they possibly can be, the better it is for everybody around them, including their family members, neighbors and future employers.

There are many studies showing not just higher wage attainment with some college, but more meaningful occupations. There are lower mortality rates as well. People tend to take better care of themselves, are better informed about both mental and physical health issues. Their children also tend to go further with education if the parent -especially if it's the father - has higher education. Higher levels of engagement in their community are also reported.

For those who aren't released, studies show that there is a lower incidence of violence in correctional facilities with these programs, and that impacts both staff members' and inmates' safety and well-being.

What unique programs does EJP offer to students at the Danville Correctional Center?

We recently had an informational session for programs that are accepting new students, and 70 people showed up for our Community Anti-Violence Education program. It's been going on for about 10 years, and it started with our students, many of whom are serving long sentences for serious crimes.

They came to me and said they were astonished and horrified that they were viewed as heroes in their home communities because of the violence that they were involved with and their reputation. They didn't want that to be their legacy. They were in their 30s, 40s or 50s and wanted to play a role in shifting their communities in a positive way.

We did a lot of research and created this program, which involves our students being trauma-informed antiviolence facilitators.

How does the CAVE program work?

Participants invite other people to apply for it who are ideally within five years of being released and are interested in changing their mindset around violence and their relationship to those around them.

The group meets once a week for 12-18 months as a cohort. It's very deep, rich and intense because it involves reading on topics such as brain functions and what it is about you physically and chemically that might cause you to respond quickly or violently to a certain situation and what other ways you could respond. There's an intellectual or academic component to the program and also a therapeutic component.

And how do participants continue that work after they are released?

So many people in prison hear what's going on in their neighborhoods back home and they wish they could be a source for peaceful resolutions, reconciliation and neighborhood upliftment. The program seeks to provide them with those skills.

We have students who join antiviolence organizations on the outside, and many of them come from this program.

It's been extraordinary. I'm really pleased that we are doing this and that our students have been able to turn it into change at the neighborhood level.