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PRISON FELLOWSHIP BLOG: Illinois

  • In-Prison Stories
  • Prison & Prisoners
Inspiring History Makers: How February Hope Events Honor Black History

Every February, a handful of talented speakers and musicians head to Illinois for a week in prison. Their mission: to bring the Gospel to incarcerated men and women through a special Prison Fellowship Hope Event.

By Joanna Breault
February 16, 2021
Hope Event | Illinois
hope events
  • Feature Stories
  • Prison & Prisoners
The Civil Rights Leader Who Sounded the Call for Prison Ministry

Hope Events are one of the backbones of Prison Fellowship’s ministry—but the idea came from a corrections and civil rights leader.

By Grayson Pope
March 6, 2018
Civil Rights | Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | Hope Event | Illinois | North Carolina | Reverend Aaron Johnson | the Macedonian Project | The Man from Macedonia
I have a bean
  • Advocacy & Reentry
  • Feature Stories
  • Reentry
I Have a Bean: Quality Coffee By Returning Neighbors

For many people who have spent time in prison, the most difficult barrier to overcome after release is the reentry into employment. In many instances, employers stop reading an application as soon as they see that someone has a criminal record.

By Katrina Burlet
March 23, 2017
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | I Have a Bean | Illinois | james short | Louis Dooley | Pete Leonard | Second Chance Hiring | Second Chance Month | Set Free Prison Ministries
Freedom tour - Brian Ganhs Sonnie Day Charleston Day Art Hallet and Jacob Moore
  • Feature Stories
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A Year of Jubilee for Illinois Prisoners

Art Hallett was the only one in his teenage group of friends who was never arrested. He credits it to his mother wisely pushing him to enlist in the Air Force at age 17. But his freedom doesn't mean he has  never been to prison.

By Zoe Erler
February 28, 2017
Black History Month | Evangelism Explosion | Freedom Tour | Hope Event | Illinois | Jubilee
Stateville Correctional Center's F House
  • Advocacy & Reentry
  • Feature Stories
Illinois Closes Infamous Prisons, Opens Doors for Reform

Photo Credit: David Leventi Photography

Sitting in the circular center of Stateville Correctional Center’s F House, a lone watchman gave prisoners the sense that they were all being watched at once.

Built in Joliet, Illinois, in 1922, the infamous roundhouse ranks as one of the oldest and costliest in the state.

By Emily Andrews
November 1, 2016
Gov. Bruce Rauner | Illinois | Prison | Stateville Correctional Center
Mary Johnson team picture 2
  • Feature Stories
  • Prison & Prisoners
At Concert, Gang Leader Accepts Christ

Members of the tour: (Clockwise, from left) Jacob Moore, Mary Johnson, Arthur Hallett, Brian Ganhs, Charleston Day, and Sonnie Day

This past February, Prison Fellowship celebrated Black History Month with a tour of African American artists who led an evangelism campaign in Illinois.

By Zoe Erler
July 22, 2016
Black History Month | Elder Charleston Day | Hip Hop | Illinois | Jacob Moore | Jazz | Prison | sonnie day | The Gideon Crew
  • Advocacy & Reentry
  • Reentry
Providing an Education for Ex-Prisoners

Daniel Geiter spent much of his young adult years in and out of correctional facilities in and around Chicago. Between his adolescent years and the age of 25, Geiter estimates that he was incarcerated in excess of 20 times.

It was during one of these prison stays that Geiter concluded that things needed to change.

By Steve Rempe
March 31, 2016
Chicago | Daniel Geiter | education | Illinois | Second Prison Project | Ward College
I am somebody feature
  • Feature Stories
  • Prison & Prisoners
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‘I Am Somebody’

For men and women who have committed crimes, the biggest challenge often isn’t being incarcerated—it’s dealing with ongoing perceptions that they are, because of their past, forever tagged as “criminal” and subjected to a status that is somewhat less than human.  

By Steve Rempe
October 6, 2015
Cabrini Green | Cabrini Green Legal Aid | I Am Somebody | Illinois | Second Prison Project
  • From the CEO
  • Prison Fellowship News & Updates
Let’s Hurry

Roberto and I had never met before, but neither that—nor the prison regulations against physical contact with visitors—kept him from giving me a bone-crushing hug.

“I’m so thankful you are here,” Roberto said, towering over me while a grin stretched across his face.

By Jim Liske
August 24, 2015
From the CEO | Illinois | Iowa | Restoration | Restorative Justice | Roberto
  • Uncategorized
Restorative Justice Works (No Matter What You Believe)

The following article originally appeared on the Justice Fellowship website.

Restorative justice works. Its principles are effective in facilitating individual change and impeding the cycle of crime whenever they are applied. However, it is helpful to understand what root issue restorative justice really helps to treat and why it’s a better response to harm in our society.

By Elisabeth Boehm
March 20, 2015
Chicago | Huffington Post | Illinois | Nancy Michaels | Peace Circles | Restorative Justice
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PRISON FELLOWSHIP IN THE NEWS

View our latest press releases and hear what other publications are saying about Prison Fellowship and our programs.

    New efforts to fix the ugly old problem of sentencing disparity for federal crack and powder cocaine offenses (LexBlog)
    Prison fellowship leader to represent the Midlands in D.C. (WACH Fox 57)
    Ashland University’s correctional education program helps inmates turn their lives around (News 5 Cleveland)
    Mornings with Eric and Brigitte: Transforming the Lives of Prisoners (Moody Radio)
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