About Us
Our mission
Deeply ingrained systemic racism. Extraordinarily long sentences. No parole or mid-sentence review. These are just some of the factors that contribute to mass incarceration in Illinois.
The prison system makes no room for compassion, nor is there recognition within the criminal legal system that people change or grow. By creating many ways into the prison but almost no way out, Illinois’ criminal legal system has wrought extraordinary moral and fiscal costs for individuals and communities. At the Illinois Prison Project, we fight against regressive policies, racist practices, and a system that treats people as disposable—with a mission focused on hope, compassion, and humanity.
Through advocacy, public education, and direct representation of thousands of needlessly incarcerated people, we bring hope to and fight in community with incarcerated people and their loved ones for a brighter, more humane, more just system for us all.
The prison system makes no room for compassion, nor is there recognition within the criminal legal system that people change or grow. By creating many ways into the prison but almost no way out, Illinois’ criminal legal system has wrought extraordinary moral and fiscal costs for individuals and communities. At the Illinois Prison Project, we fight against regressive policies, racist practices, and a system that treats people as disposable—with a mission focused on hope, compassion, and humanity.
Through advocacy, public education, and direct representation of thousands of needlessly incarcerated people, we bring hope to and fight in community with incarcerated people and their loved ones for a brighter, more humane, more just system for us all.
Our Values
We value respect for one another and our clients. This means that we strive to recognize each others’ humanity, to treat each other with dignity and actively listen to each other (including when we disagree), to recognize and acknowledge that each of our contributions to this work is equally important, and to reflect respect through both words and actions. In all conversations, we offer each other grace, empathy, and acceptance, including acceptance of our individual differences.
Our work and focus is decarceration, meaning we work to reduce the number of people in correctional facilities by working for the release of those currently incarcerated and the diversion of those who might otherwise be incarcerated. While we collaborate with abolitionist groups and many of us, including our clients, hold abolitionist values, abolition is not our organizational approach. Instead, our strategy and approach is decarceration, meaning we advocate to get as many people out of prison as possible. We acknowledge that this approach requires us to work within systems with whom we fundamentally disagree.
We care about a collaborative working environment across different departments and different roles, between ourselves, our clients, our allies and others. Although there is hierarchy within our organization, we believe that our team will be at its strongest when all members of our teams are actively engaged, have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and have space to make meaningful contributions towards our shared goal of decarceration.
We value inclusivity. We intentionally work to build a team and a client base that is inclusive of people with different identities around background, life experience, race, class, age, language, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, culture, ethnicity, religion, spirituality, mental health, disability, incarceration or history with the legal or carceral system, employment, housing stability, recovery or use of substances, military involvement, immigration status, learning styles, and access to education. We value equity, which we define as just treatment, access and advancement for each person within IPP, recognizing that structural inequalities — historic and current — have advantaged some and disadvantaged others. We will strive to avoid making assumptions about one another’s identities based on external appearances or presentation. We value diversity and believe that our organization is improved by the vast range of opinions, experiences, and approaches that inform our work, and we strive to create a work environment that is accepting of and welcoming to all team members.
We are committed to building an anti-oppressive and anti-racist culture that allows us and our clients to bring their full selves and to do their best work. As a part of these efforts:We consider racism to be the process by which systems and policies, actions and attitudes discriminate against and create inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race and ethnicity. We recognize racism as the driving force behind the mass incarceration of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people. We also recognize that racism shapes all social, economic, and workplace cultures—including ours—and we have to actively work to resist racism and its outcomes.We are committed to anti-racism which we define as a process of actively identifying and opposing racism. The goal of anti-racism is to challenge racism and actively change the policies, behaviors, and beliefs that perpetuate racist ideas and actions.We acknowledge that assumptions, preconceptions, and harm based on background, life experience, race, class, age, language, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, culture, ethnicity, religion, spirituality, mental health, disability, incarceration or history with the legal or carceral system, employment, housing stability, recovery or use of substances, military involvement, immigration status, and access to education will surface in our workplace. We will work to resist these assumptions, preconceptions, and harms as they arise.We acknowledge that much of our work—especially direct representation—is predicated on a legal framework that leans heavily on hyper-formal academic systems. Although our work often engages these systems, we critique them and their origins wherever we can, and modify our own internal practices to include a variety of experiences, knowledge bases, and learning/communication styles within our diverse team. We will engage in an ongoing examination of organizational practices, large and small, that harm or differently impact our team, allies, and clients, with a goal towards minimizing negative impact.We are committed to working to actively name, undermine, and undo the systems of oppression that negatively impact ourselves, our colleagues, our clients, and our world.
We care about resolving conflict when it arises in our organization. This means that we (and particularly leadership) will work to make sure that all team members feel as safe as possible in bringing feedback and requests to resolve conflict and have multiple options to bring such feedback and requests. We will work to support all staff in developing skills to both give and receive feedback and to engage in conflict resolution processes.
In acknowledging that we are human, we know that our team, allies, and clients will and have caused harm. We endorse a non-punitive approach to harm whenever possible within the realities of being a non-profit organization and our current resources and capacities, and balanced with the needs of those who have experienced harm. That means that with regard to the organization itself and with regard to individual team members and clients, we believe in non-disposability and strive to work, whenever possible, to support our fellow team members, allies, and clients to learn from mistakes and repair harm.
We are building something new. We value experimentation, shared learning, cyclical feedback and grace, and the continual expansion of our collective organizational and personal toolboxes towards our shared goal of decarceration. Part of this means that we embrace imperfection, and acknowledge that both organizations and people make mistakes. In order to encourage experimentation, build something new together, and grow as individuals and organizationally, we treat losses and setbacks as an opportunity to grow, learn, and try again.
Our work and focus is decarceration, meaning we work to reduce the number of people in correctional facilities by working for the release of those currently incarcerated and the diversion of those who might otherwise be incarcerated. While we collaborate with abolitionist groups and many of us, including our clients, hold abolitionist values, abolition is not our organizational approach. Instead, our strategy and approach is decarceration, meaning we advocate to get as many people out of prison as possible. We acknowledge that this approach requires us to work within systems with whom we fundamentally disagree.
We care about a collaborative working environment across different departments and different roles, between ourselves, our clients, our allies and others. Although there is hierarchy within our organization, we believe that our team will be at its strongest when all members of our teams are actively engaged, have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and have space to make meaningful contributions towards our shared goal of decarceration.
We value inclusivity. We intentionally work to build a team and a client base that is inclusive of people with different identities around background, life experience, race, class, age, language, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, culture, ethnicity, religion, spirituality, mental health, disability, incarceration or history with the legal or carceral system, employment, housing stability, recovery or use of substances, military involvement, immigration status, learning styles, and access to education. We value equity, which we define as just treatment, access and advancement for each person within IPP, recognizing that structural inequalities — historic and current — have advantaged some and disadvantaged others. We will strive to avoid making assumptions about one another’s identities based on external appearances or presentation. We value diversity and believe that our organization is improved by the vast range of opinions, experiences, and approaches that inform our work, and we strive to create a work environment that is accepting of and welcoming to all team members.
We are committed to building an anti-oppressive and anti-racist culture that allows us and our clients to bring their full selves and to do their best work. As a part of these efforts:We consider racism to be the process by which systems and policies, actions and attitudes discriminate against and create inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race and ethnicity. We recognize racism as the driving force behind the mass incarceration of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people. We also recognize that racism shapes all social, economic, and workplace cultures—including ours—and we have to actively work to resist racism and its outcomes.We are committed to anti-racism which we define as a process of actively identifying and opposing racism. The goal of anti-racism is to challenge racism and actively change the policies, behaviors, and beliefs that perpetuate racist ideas and actions.We acknowledge that assumptions, preconceptions, and harm based on background, life experience, race, class, age, language, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, culture, ethnicity, religion, spirituality, mental health, disability, incarceration or history with the legal or carceral system, employment, housing stability, recovery or use of substances, military involvement, immigration status, and access to education will surface in our workplace. We will work to resist these assumptions, preconceptions, and harms as they arise.We acknowledge that much of our work—especially direct representation—is predicated on a legal framework that leans heavily on hyper-formal academic systems. Although our work often engages these systems, we critique them and their origins wherever we can, and modify our own internal practices to include a variety of experiences, knowledge bases, and learning/communication styles within our diverse team. We will engage in an ongoing examination of organizational practices, large and small, that harm or differently impact our team, allies, and clients, with a goal towards minimizing negative impact.We are committed to working to actively name, undermine, and undo the systems of oppression that negatively impact ourselves, our colleagues, our clients, and our world.
We care about resolving conflict when it arises in our organization. This means that we (and particularly leadership) will work to make sure that all team members feel as safe as possible in bringing feedback and requests to resolve conflict and have multiple options to bring such feedback and requests. We will work to support all staff in developing skills to both give and receive feedback and to engage in conflict resolution processes.
In acknowledging that we are human, we know that our team, allies, and clients will and have caused harm. We endorse a non-punitive approach to harm whenever possible within the realities of being a non-profit organization and our current resources and capacities, and balanced with the needs of those who have experienced harm. That means that with regard to the organization itself and with regard to individual team members and clients, we believe in non-disposability and strive to work, whenever possible, to support our fellow team members, allies, and clients to learn from mistakes and repair harm.
We are building something new. We value experimentation, shared learning, cyclical feedback and grace, and the continual expansion of our collective organizational and personal toolboxes towards our shared goal of decarceration. Part of this means that we embrace imperfection, and acknowledge that both organizations and people make mistakes. In order to encourage experimentation, build something new together, and grow as individuals and organizationally, we treat losses and setbacks as an opportunity to grow, learn, and try again.
Our work
LEGAL REPRESENTATION
EDUCATION
The Education Department at the Illinois Prison Project plays a crucial role in advancing our mission. Our primary responsibilities include educating the public about the issues surrounding mass incarceration and challenging harmful, one-dimensional stereotypes associated with individuals who have experienced incarceration. We are committed to developing strategies that humanize both formerly incarcerated individuals and those currently within the correctional system. Our goal is to foster understanding and empathy, focusing on inclusivity rather than division, promoting a more nuanced and compassionate perspective on these often-marginalized communities.
IPP’s Education Team works to shift the narrative around incarceration by centering the voices and expertise of formerly incarcerated people. Through our Ambassador Fellowship Program, formerly incarcerated people are trained to tell their stories and teach communities about the harm caused by excessive sentences – especially to communities of color – and the urgent need for reform.
IPP’s Community Navigator Program helps communities impacted by incarceration advocate for themselves and their loved ones. Navigators share legal information and support for incarcerated people who are advocating for their own freedom, and lead community-based workshops and quarterly trainings in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities.
IPP’s Education Team works to shift the narrative around incarceration by centering the voices and expertise of formerly incarcerated people. Through our Ambassador Fellowship Program, formerly incarcerated people are trained to tell their stories and teach communities about the harm caused by excessive sentences – especially to communities of color – and the urgent need for reform.
IPP’s Community Navigator Program helps communities impacted by incarceration advocate for themselves and their loved ones. Navigators share legal information and support for incarcerated people who are advocating for their own freedom, and lead community-based workshops and quarterly trainings in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities.
Who we are
Staff
LEADERSHIP
Jennifer Soble
Executive Director
Jennifer Soble
Executive Director
Rebeccah Lanni
Deputy Director
Rebeccah Lanni
Deputy Director
Candace Chambliss
Legal Director
Candace Chambliss
Legal Director
Rachel White-Domain
Director, Women & Survivors Project
Rachel White-Domain
Director, Women & Survivors Project
Renaldo Hudson
Education Director
Renaldo Hudson
Education Director
Marshan Allen
Director of Policy and Communications
Marshan Allen
Director of Policy and Communications
LEGAL
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educatioN
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ADMINISTRATIVE/DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT
Policy & COmmunications
Ambassadors
LaToya Baines
LaToya Baines
Sylvia Begay-Pullum
Sylvia Begay-Pullum
Ronnie Carrasquillo
Ronnie Carrasquillo
Saundra Falls
Saundra Falls
Stanley Howard
Stanley Howard
Fatima Monteiro
Fatima Monteiro
Executive Board
Sheila Bedi
Sheila Bedi
Jeanne Bishop
Jeanne Bishop
Anne Dodge
Anne Dodge
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Len Goodman
Len Goodman
Sarah Grady
Sarah Grady
Melissa Mitchell
Melissa Mitchell
Jamelia Morgan
Jamelia Morgan
Veena Rao Raiji
Veena Rao Raiji
Reena Sikdar
Reena Sikdar
Sarah Weiss
Sarah Weiss
