Report Addresses Race and Inequality in the Illinois Criminal Justice System

A report recently released by an Illinois state government commission examines the impact of state drug laws on minority communities and recommends possible solutions to the overrepresentation of Blacks and Latinos within the state criminal justice system.

The “Illinois Disproportionate Justice Impact Study” focuses on how minority communities are unequally affected by drug possession enforcement, which accounts for 75 percent of felony drug arrests across the state.  

The commission reported that, while state drug use rates were comparable between Whites and minorities, minorities were consistently arrested for drug use at higher rates, and represented 93 percent of the population entering felony court in 2005. Among first-time arrests for drug possession, Whites were more likely to be sentenced to court supervision or probation, while minorities were more likely to be transferred to criminal court. African Americans were almost two times more likely to go to prison than Whites for all criminal charges.

The report included a series of recommendations for policy and practice changes “to address the disproportionate impact that even seemingly neutral laws can have on minority communities.” The recommendations called for a uniform recordkeeping system to better evaluate ethnic and racial disparities, increased use of alternative sentencing options to reduce incarceration, and the assurance that expunged or dropped charges are not included in employment background checks.

During the last session of Congress, the House passed and the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a companion bill that would establish an independent national commission charged with evaluating the nation’s criminal justice system and offering recommendations for cost-effective reforms.  The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights supports an evidence-based approach to reforming our criminal justice system that eliminates racial disparities and encourages reducing the country’s prison population.