UUPMI concerned over COVID-19 and care for those incarceratedOn the morning of March 7, 2020, UUPMI sent a letter to
Rob Jeffries, Acting Director Illinois Department of Corrections and Jim Kaitschuk, Executive Director Illinois Sheriffs’ Association. The letter addresses concerns over how COVID-19 may affect people who work and live in Illinois prisons and jails. Read the letter here... Learning togetherFrom Life Inside of the Marshall Project:
"What Coronavirus Quarantine Looks Like in Prison" by Christopher Blackwell and Arthur Longworth 3.18.20 “I cannot help but linger on the faces of the elderly prisoners and think about how they are unlikely to survive this.” Read more... ‘We Are Not a Hospital’: A Prison Braces for the Coronavirus
By Danielle Ivory Published March 17, 2020 New York Times In jails and prisons across the country, concerns are rising of a coronavirus outbreak behind bars. Already, cases have been reported. On Friday, someone who works in a Washington State prison tested positive for the virus, and the day before, the sheriff in Hancock County, Ind., said a staff member at the local jail was being isolated at home after a positive test. On Tuesday night, New York State confirmed that an employee at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility had tested positive. Read more... "Cook County Official Ponder Inmate Release to Ease Coronavirus Concerns at Jail"
Chicago Tribune by Annie Sweeney March 16, 2020 Read more... "New York Will Use Prison Labor to Make Hand Sanitizer"
The incarcerated workers typically make 65 cents an hour. The Slate March 9, 2020New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday that the state had found a way to counteract price gouging on hand sanitizer amid the COVID-19 outbreak: by deploying cheap prison labor. Incarcerated people will be producing 100,000 gallons of the disinfectant, branded as “NYS Clean hand sanitizer,” to be distributed to government agencies, prisons, public transportation systems, and schools for free. Read more... "COVID-19 Concerns and Recommendations for the Safety of Illinois Prisoners and Prisons" from the John Howard Association:
"With a highly contagious disease infecting people all over the world, there is understandable concern about the presence of the coronavirus in prisons and management of it once exposure has been realized. Having plans for prevention and treatment in place is critical to minimizing the impact of the virus. " Read more... 
Watch the ZO, from The Marshall Project:
2/27/20 "Life Inside" series “The Zo,” prison jargon for The Twilight Zone, was based on a huge archive of letters compiled by the American Prison Writing Archive, a remarkable open-source database invented by Doran Larson, a professor of creative writing at Hamilton College. It is a disturbing study of a struggle between prisoners and their captors, waged not with fists or weapons but with deliberately disorienting rules and impossible tasks. Guards mess with the prisoner’s heads. Those incarcerated try to keep their grip on reality by clinging to details—days until parole, prices of items in the commissary, the minutiae of routine. Guards escalate, inflicting arbitrary transfers or random stints in isolation. "The National Bail Industry Is Funding Misleading Facebook Ads to Fight Nail Reform Movement, Advocates Say"
2/20/2020 Gothamist by George Joseph The national bail industry is bankrolling a Facebook campaign against New York state’s new bail reform law. From December through this month, the American Bail Coalition, which represents bail bonds insurers, has spent around $8,000 on promotional posts that have generated between 965,000 and 1.1 million impressions in New York state alone. The industry group has also spent thousands more on Facebook ads across the country, a small fraction of which have generated impressions in New York. Read more... Will Tennessee kill a man who saved lives on death row?
Note: Nicholas Sutton was killed by the TN government 2/20/2020 2/16/2020 by Liliana Segura The Intercept It is not unusual for the condemned to form bonds and support one another. Regular visitors to Tennessee’s death row often describe how important those relationships have become in their own lives as well — and how devastating each execution can be. On occasion, prison employees themselves will speak out against an execution, describing the ways in which the condemned person has changed and evolved over the years. Yet Sutton’s clemency petition is striking for the number of people, including prison officials, who describe him as Joyce House does, as a man who has gone out of his way to help others — and even save lives. Read more... Self-led Learning page lists historic offerings and more to help deepen your knowledge.
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Events you should know aboutOur MissionWe equip UU's in Illinois to transform institutions and support people harmed by the prison industrial complex. Read More
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HUGE Celebrations for Monica Cosby:
FIELD FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST LEADERS FOR A NEW CHICAGO AWARD RECIPIENTS -- The Field Foundation today announced the 14 recipients of its inaugural Leaders for a New Chicago award, supported by a $2.1 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to expand the definition of leadership in Chicago.
“In Chicago we have no shortage of brilliant minds working every day to change lives and reshape our city,” said Angelique Power, president, the Field Foundation. “We are so honored to be in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation as we hand over a megaphone, share resources, and then sit back and watch as these incredible people continue to soar, bringing our city to more just and beautiful places than we could’ve ever imagined.”
THE 2019 LEADERS FOR A NEW CHICAGO AWARDEES ARE:
• Monica Cosby, a leader of the participatory defense work at Westside Justice Center and one of the leading advocates for incarcerated women and the fight for post-incarceration rights in Chicago.
Read More
FIELD FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST LEADERS FOR A NEW CHICAGO AWARD RECIPIENTS -- The Field Foundation today announced the 14 recipients of its inaugural Leaders for a New Chicago award, supported by a $2.1 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to expand the definition of leadership in Chicago.
“In Chicago we have no shortage of brilliant minds working every day to change lives and reshape our city,” said Angelique Power, president, the Field Foundation. “We are so honored to be in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation as we hand over a megaphone, share resources, and then sit back and watch as these incredible people continue to soar, bringing our city to more just and beautiful places than we could’ve ever imagined.”
THE 2019 LEADERS FOR A NEW CHICAGO AWARDEES ARE:
• Monica Cosby, a leader of the participatory defense work at Westside Justice Center and one of the leading advocates for incarcerated women and the fight for post-incarceration rights in Chicago.
Read More
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We need your help! We can sustain this ministry only if we have the support of people who care about our shared humanity with people in prison. Your contribution will help fund our quarter-time minister’s salary, benefits, and travel costs, plus the costs of our education offerings to congregations.
The In Prison Ministry works to create a spiritual space where all people can come as they are and be affirmed in their inherent worth and dignity, no matter their identities or past harm they may have caused. The outside work of the UU Prison Ministry focuses on preparing our congregations to become radically welcoming places for formerly incarcerated and convicted people. We embrace the call of Unitarian Universalism to make our congregations accepting of all people. The Prison Ministry will also connect UUs to local and state-level policy initiatives that seek to build a world community of peace, liberty and justice for all. |
UU Prison Ministry of Illinois is a 501(c)3 organization, so your contributions are tax-deductible.
We are funded in part by the Fund for Unitarian Universalist Social Responsibility - and grateful for their support. |