Campaign Updates: Events + News

Our policy advocacy strategies advance social, economic, and racial justice. We center the experiences and expertise of directly impacted people and collaborate with local, state, and national advocates to develop and advocate for bold policy solutions that create lasting social change. Download Fully Free Act from the policy agenda here.

5:30pm (CT). Join us for Grammy-award-winning performers, invited guests, live media coverage, live music, and more!

Looking to mobilize your community with the tools to fight for themselves? Join us for a 3 Day Organizing Training where we will train on the fundamentals of community organizing. Learn how to build power, develop leaders, and uplift the needs and voices of your community!

10am-1:30pm (CT). Join us for the filming of Firsthand Talks: Life After Prison- a day of reflections, personal stories, new ideas and solutions for addressing the challenges and opportunities facing people returning to society after spending time in prison.

11:30-1:00pm (CT). Join us for a lunch and learn with Fully Free and Project Now at Rock Island’s Grace City Church. RSVP to Mary mmcneil@projectnow.org

SB3098/HB4490 removes language in the Illinois Probate Act that prohibits anyone with a felony conviction from serving as an executor or administrator of an estate.

HB 3215 would establish a living wage job creation program for up to 16,000 formerly incarcerated workers and offer employers wage subsidies for hiring workers with conviction records into new, high-quality jobs. The bill would also provide targeted grants to small businesses that hire formerly incarcerated workers to help cover the cost of on-the-job training.

Join us at our State Advocacy Day in Springfield, Illinois! Learn how to lobby legislators, and directly apply those skills by advocating for the Fully Free Act and SAFER Communities Act.

Did you know that people with criminal records can still vote? Participate in Illinois Elections!

Join our coalition members in Aurora, Carbondale, and Chicago to march to the polls and secure the vote! Email hpena@heartlandalliance.org for more information.

Recording of the state-wide virtual launch of the Fully Free Campaign.

December 12, 2022- Op-ed: As Chicago gears up for city elections, ex-offenders need to know they have right to vote

The public generally believes that if the formerly incarcerated obey laws and avoid pushing back against the status quo, they will be redeemed as good citizens. However, this narrative is simply not true. Consider this: Some 3.3 million adults have been arrested or convicted of a crime in Illinois since 1979. Most of the 277,000 people released from prison in Illinois every year return to Cook County. Yet only a fraction of these individuals have seats at the tables where decisions are being made about the direction, values and investments made by our state and communities.

December 7, 2022- A northwestern Illinois city has taken another step toward welcoming citizens with felony convictions

This month, Kewanee hired a new employee who just got out of prison. A change in employment rules made it possible, and that might happen in the Quad Cities, too. A year ago, Kewanee removed legal sanctions that barred it from hiring previously incarcerated people. Mario Crowder, laborer for Kewanee Public Works

November 25, 2022- Aurora nonprofit Challenge II Change, sheriff’s office to open transitional living house for people who were recently released from jail

The nonprofit organization Challenge II Change is working with the Kane County Sheriff’s Office to open a transitional living house in Aurora for people recently released from prison and trying to assimilate back into society.

November 9, 2022- University of Chicago professor's research on former inmates earns MacArthur 'genius' grant

A felon in Illinois can't even host a game of bingo. That's just one of the laws on the state's books that affect people leaving prison. Life on the inside means missing celebrations, but getting out is no party, as evidenced by the decades-long analysis of University of Chicago sociologist Reuben Jonathan Miller.

October 3, 2022- Permanent Punishment

Economic sanctions. Collateral consequences. Permanent punishments. There are 44,000 restrictive federal laws, rules, and policies that continue to penalize people long after they have served their sentence in prison. This WTTW News four-part series hosted by Chicago Tonight co-anchor Brandis Friedman examines this stark reality faced by nearly 3.3 million men and women in Illinois.

July 2, 2022- OP-ED: This Independence Day, millions of Illinoisans lack freedom

The Fourth of July is here again! And who in America doesn’t love a day filled with barbecues, fireworks, and cheer for the red, white, and blue? Independence Day is meant to be a celebration of “freedom.” Sadly, 246 years after the United States declared its independence, “freedom” or the reality of being “fully free” remains inaccessible for millions of its own residents with arrest or conviction records.

June 6, 2022- Restorative Re-entry and Finding Full Freedom w/ Marlon Chamberlain

In this episode, you will meet Marlon Chamberlain, hear about his experience within the criminal justice system, and how he views restorative justice as an essential step to growth after incarceration. He shares his initiatives and role at NACRJ and answers the closing questions.

February 11, 2022- Marlon Chamberlain: What does it mean to be fully free upon release

Marlon has an established track record of creating effective coalitions, including passing the largest sealing expansion law in the United States and leading a voter registration campaign, which registered over 1,000 people with records to vote. He is currently the campaign manager for the Fully Free Campaign in Illinois, which works to dismantle the laws and regulations that govern permanent punishments, which are the barriers that deny or restrict rights and opportunities for people with a record -- long after their involvement with the criminal legal system is over.

October 14, 2021- Fully Free Campaign: Directly impacted individuals changing laws and creating opportunities

Interview with Marlon Chamberlain, Fully Free Campaign manager with Heartland Alliance. What is the Fully Free Campaign? What are some of the biggest challenges someone formerly incarcerated faces when returning home? How can people directly support the Fully Free Campaign, or support its goals in other ways? 

October 5, 2021- "Facebook Fiasco" and Marlon Chamberlain, & Lisa Solomon; and Senator Robert Peters

Facebook melts down. Ben riffs. Or tries to. Marlon Chamberlain from Fully Free joins Lisa Soloman to talk restorative justice. And state Senator Robert Peters returns to discuss dog whistles, Ken Griffin. Bears looking for handouts and the hypocrisy of "free marketers".

October 5, 2021- Episode 11: Reality Lovett

Richard Lovett, who prefers to go by the name Reality Allah, is the Reentry Coordinator for READI Chicago and a board member of the Fully Free campaign of Heartland Alliance. After Reality was originally sentenced to serve 85 years in Illinois state prison, that sentence was later reduced due to the reversal of one of his convictions on appeal, so he ended up spending 22 years in prison. Now, he works to prevent others from following the path he did.

October 1, 2021- Prison after prison: Advocates seek to remove barriers for the formerly incarcerated

A coalition of advocates have launched a campaign to dismantle systems they say lead to “permanent punishment” for people that have formerly been incarcerated. Marlon Chamberlain of the Fully Free Campaign knows what it’s like to be subjected to continued punishment after a prison term has been served.

September 29, 2021- New Quad-Cities group wants to remove barriers faced by the previously incarcerated

An Illinois human rights advocacy group whose goal is to end "permanent punishments" for formerly incarcerated people in Illinois announced Tuesday their plan to launch a chapter in the Quad-Cities.

September 29, 2021-Fully Free Organizes Chapter in the QC

A campaign is starting in Illinois to help people with serious criminal records regain their rights. Called "Fully Free," the goal of the statewide coalition is to help former prisoners get full access to jobs, education, and housing.

September 27, 2021- Campaign to end permanent punishments for those with criminal records

The Quad Cities will be home to a new chapter of an Illinois state-wide coalition dedicated to end permanent punishments for those with criminal records.

September 20, 2021- Episode 10: Willette Benford

Willette Benford is Board Chair of the Fully Free campaign of Heartland Alliance. In this episode she tells the story of how she was convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison, developed a transformational relationship with God, worked while in prison to improve her life and the lives of others around her.

September 14, 2021- Episode 9: Cedric Frison

Cedrick Frison shares wisdom gained from the hard lessons of living life on the streets of the west side of Chicago, including the effects of drug use, the trauma of living with violence both at home and on the street and going to prison nine times before breaking free from that cycle and becoming the man he is today.

September 6, 2021- Episode 8: The Fully Free Campaign

The Fully Free campaign aims to end “permanent punishment” for people seeking to lead law-abiding lives after release from prison.

August 30, 2021- Episode 7: Marlon Chamberlain

Marlon Chamberlain shares his personal story and insights gained from serving over a decade in federal prison, returning home to community and family life, and following the path that led him to where he is today. Interviewed by David Risley and Lynard Joiner.

Valentina Perez Botero | Communications and Content Manager

vperezbotero@heartlandalliance.org