Coalition to Decarcerate IL
The goal is abolition.
The Coalition to Decarcerate IL is a group of loved ones of the incarcerated, currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, activists, and creatives working towards abolition and fighting for the rights and dignity of currently incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.
Our Work.
Our coalition works to achieve our mission through campaign organizing, political education, and the direct support of people with loved ones behind bars. In our first year, we focused on COVID-19 conditions in Illinois prisons (see video below). Learn more about the history of our work on our About Us page!
This video was produced by our coalition members at SoapBox Productions & Organizing.
The Report.
The Coalition to Decarcerate IL, formerly known as the End IL Prison Lockdown Coalition, formed in direct response to the Illinois Department of Corrections' (IDOC) failed policies to stop the spread of COVID-19 in its prisons. Prisons were created to be death-making institutions, and they still are. The COVID-19 pandemic, for all of us who love someone inside prison walls, has been a painful reminder of this. In the beginning of 2021, we surveyed 800 individuals in IDOC, collected 300 responses, and created a report with this data surrounding COVID-19 prison conditions and death.
"Covid-19 Behind Prison Walls" Recording
This event was organized by the Coalition to Decarcerate IL in addition to the University of Illinois at Chicago Criminology, Law, and Justice Department and Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy and features discussion on COVID-19 in Illinois prisons. This event features panelists Tewkunzi Green, Michelle Daniel (Jones), Erica Meiners, and Alan Mills.
Our Coalition.
