Advancing Equity Through Research

The Fully Free Campaign is rooted in evidence. Our original, person-centered research provides a foundation for the Campaign goals and informs our advocacy efforts.

The Heartland Alliance study, Never Fully Free: The Scale and Impact of Permanent Punishments on People with Criminal Records in Illinois, is the first of its kind to highlight the scale and impact of permanent punishments on people. Research found shows that in Illinois, 3.3 million adults have been arrested or convicted of a crime since 1979, which is widely thought to be the beginning of mass incarceration. There are 1,189 permanent punishment laws and regulations in Illinois that restrict people with records, often indefinitely.

The study also shows that ending permanent punishments is a must for advancing racial justice. The criminal legal system targets and oppresses Black, Indigenous, and people of color—especially people experiencing poverty—at every step. Therefore, they experience the harshest impacts from arrests to conviction to sentencing. Of the 1.2 million adults convicted of crimes in Illinois, nearly 35 percent are Black—a rate over two and half times as high as the percent of Illinois adults who are Black. The ripple effects of permanent punishments are devastating to children, families, and communities of color across Illinois.

For the study, people with records provided input into its research design, questions asked and how they were asked, helped to author Never Fully Free. Stories of people experiencing permanent punishments were woven throughout the report, underscoring why Illinois needs to end permanent punishments and provide people with records the opportunity to be fully free.