LITTLE VILLAGE — Chance the Rapper and Common are advocating for changes to Illinois’ parole laws.

This comes two weeks before state lawmakers consider Senate Bill 2333, which would amend Illinois’ criminal law to make people eligible for parole after they’ve served in the Illinois Department of Corrections for at least 20 years. 

The rappers spoke at a news conference outside the Cook County Jail on Wednesday to urge state lawmakers to pass the bill. 

“SB 2333 is a necessary policy that will begin to correct the harms of long-term incarceration in this state and putting an end to negative impacts that incarceration has on our community, family members, and the loved ones of those who are incarcerated,” Chance the Rapper said. “We need a criminal justice system that reflects the values we want to see in this world.” 

Illinois ended discretionary parole in 1978.

“Illinois, what are we doing?” Common said. “Other states are granting parole.” 

The Illinois Parole System

Illinois lawmakers got rid of discretionary parole “at the beginning of the tough-on-crime era,” Katrina Burlet, campaign director and operations manager of Parole Illinois, said. Her group has been pushing the bill and organized the news conference.

At the time, some thought fixed-length sentencing would help address racism in the state’s criminal justice system, according to Parole Illinois. The change was supposed to provide equal treatment in sentencing — but Black and Latino people were still disproportionately affected, often receiving longer prison sentences than white people, according to the goup.

“So that whole [idea of] ‘everyone’s going to be released one day’ lasted maybe two years before we started stacking on huge amounts of sentencing enhancements and lengthening sentences and adding things that were considered crimes that would be met with prison time, and then truth-in-sentencing, and three strikes laws and like we just stacked it on over the last over the last four decades,” Burlet said.

Illinois now uses what’s known as mandatory supervised release, a time period of supervision after a person has been released. Parole Illinois is among those who say that’s an additional punishment.

After past attempts at parole reform bills, groups such as Parole Illinois are hoping SB 2333, drafted with the help of Illinois inmates, passes. The lead sponsors are Sens. Celina Villanueva, Robert Peters and Jacqueline Y. Collins.

Parole Illinois representatives from the Chicago area also spoke at the news conference before leaving on buses to travel downstate to a rally Wednesday in Springfield at the Illinois State Capitol building, along with state lawmakers.

“Most people in Illinois prisons don’t get evaluated for the potential for early restoration to their communities,” Burlet said of the current system. “So this movement was really born from that and because it is people in prison who are the mind behind all of this, and the energy and the heart behind all this.”