Reader feedback and continuing coverage are keeping prison issues top of mind this month. Here are a few updates:

JCAR SAYS NO: Last Saturday’s column explored the Aug. 14 emergency rule allowing the Department of Corrections to intercept mail intended for inmates. The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules formally objected on Tuesday. Capitol News Illinois said the temporary rule can remain in effect through January, but the vote, per CNI’s Peter Hancock, “sent a clear message to the department that it will need to make significant changes – and listen to feedback from incarcerated people’s families, attorneys and other interested stakeholders – if it wants to make the rule permanent.”

IDOC did submit proposed permanent rules before the meeting, which means the subject will resurface at JCAR’s Oct. 14 session. But another issue to watch from this story is the fact that IDOC signed a “zero-cost contract” with a vendor that supplies prisons with tablets so inmates can read mail after it’s digitized. The devices are free to the state because the company charges prisoners to access entertainment and communication services.

CNI didn’t report the rates the vendor is charging, but it hasn’t been that long since Congress passed the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, giving the Federal Communications Commission the power to cap the cost of phone calls (the nationwide average was $5 for 30 minutes).

Rep. Curtis Tarver II, D-Chicago, questioned the logic of introducing the tablets under the guise of drug smuggling prevention, but starting by selling access to streaming content. He’s unlikely to be alone in pressing for better answers.

RECIDIVISM RATES: On Sept. 11, I lamented DOC’s inability to calculate recidivism statistics going back to 2022, which the agency attributes to a “programming issue.” On Thursday, the Chicago Tribune reported some good news on this front. Not from the state level, unfortunately, but a study of a Cook County deferred prosecution/social services program for juveniles launched in 2020 showed 18% of participants were charged again, a steep drop from 28% in the comparison group. The study also said 85% of juveniles referred to the program graduated.

Those figures show room for improvement, but they also represent significant success in positive changes for dozens of families. Ideally, DOC could also produce statistics allowing us all to evaluate the efficacy of its own efforts to rehabilitate people and prepare them for life outside their cells. The current conditions – we’re all just kind of guessing – don’t really serve anyone’s goals. That’s no way to manage public resources.

GET INVOLVED: Restore Justice is offering an online session covering programs available for incarcerated people, part of the Loved Ones Self-Advocacy Series. DOC’s Jennifer Barrack will speak. Visit tinyurl.com/RJLovedOnes for details.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.