UUPMI concerned over COVID-19 and care for those incarcerated 

A State-by-State Look at Coronavirus in Prisons
​by The Marshall Project 
::updated daily::
The Marshall Project is collecting data on COVID-19 infections in state and federal prisons. See how the virus has affected correctional facilities where you live.
Read more...

A Letter Unanswered
March 7, 2020

​On the morning of March 7, 2020, UUPMI sent a letter to 
Rob Jeffreys, 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 together

"A Major Obstacle to Police Reform: The Whiteness of Their Union"
by Eli Hager and Weihua Li
6.10.2020

"The president of Minneapolis’s police union called George Floyd a “violent criminal” and those protesting his killing by a police officer a “terrorist movement.” A union chief in Baltimore once said Black Lives Matter activists were a “lynch mob”; one in Philadelphia referred to them as “a pack of rabid animals.” Another has labeled St. Louis’s democratically elected prosecutor, who is black and supports police reform, a “menace to society” who must be removed “by force” if necessary.All of these union leaders also have this in common: They are white."  Read more

"How To Hide a COVID-19 Hotspot? Pretend Prisoners Don’t Exist"
by Abbie VanSickle
The Marshall Project
​May 27, 2020
​
The coronavirus-stricken prisoners kept off the books. Officials in Santa Barbara County faced a dilemma weeks ago. They desperately wanted permission from California authorities to “reopen” their local economy as the coronavirus ebbed in the state. But a major outbreak of COVID-19 at FCI Lompoc, the federal prison there, had skewed the metrics. Santa Barbara resolved its problem by lobbying state officials to exclude prisoners from relevant public health analyses. “It’s a fiction,” says a justice reform advocate. It’s also a scenario likely to be repeated in other counties across the country where prisons are COVID-19 hotspots. Read more...

"Virus Forces Judges Into Life-or-Death Calls on Inmate Releases"
​by Madison Alder
May 18, 2020

Judges are interpreting the law on the fly as they face an unprecedented spike in requests for “compassionate release” from prison, coming to different conclusions about what can be done in the context of a pandemic.  The swell of requests for what’s known as compassionate release come after the passage of a law, written before the Covid-19 outbreak, that made it easier for those requests to be filed with the courts.
Read more...

Self-led Learning page lists historic offerings and more to help deepen your knowledge.

UUPMI Events

​Virtual Event
Abolitionist Theologies:
​Religious Resistance to Policing and Prisons
Wednesday, August 12th, 6:30p.m.- 8:00 p.m., CDT

As the movement for abolition continues to grow, with calls to defund police departments, demands for mass release of prisoners, campaigns for reparations, and more; where do faith communities fit in? Religious leaders from across traditions have always been involved in abolitionist organizing. At the same time, religious institutions, especially white Protestantism, hold much responsibility for the creation of the American punishment system as it is today. Join us for a conversation with religious organizers and scholars about the need to create and uplift abolitionist theologies and mobilize people of faith towards the dreams of abolition.
Join our panelists for an engaging conversation along with time for prayer and music. 
Panelists: The Rev. Doris Green, Pastor Darryl Brown Jr, Laura McTighe, and Zaynab Shahar. Moderated by the Rev. Jason Lydon.
​Register here.

CLF Pen Pal Check In:
Tuesday, August 25th, 6:00 - 7:30pm
​The CLF Ambassador Program of Illinois invites our outside penpals to a Penpal Check-in. We'll make time to share about our penpals and friends on the inside, name the joys and/or concerns in our penpalships, ask questions, and figure out ways forward together. We also want to hear about the conditions inside that our/your inside penpals are reporting. For pen pals already part of the CLF Program.  Register here for Zoom link.

Events you should know about

  The COVID-19 Pandemic has highlighted the many needs of those who are recently released or still inside.  Though there are immediate needs that must be addressed, our organization still holds onto to a long-term religious vision where the humanity of all is recognized and liberation/reconciliation is possible for all people.
Get Involved! For action you can take, visit the Illinois Prison Project, who is keeping a running list of ways we can stay engaged in our vision of liberation in these difficult times. See how we as an organization are staying engaged while sheltering-in-place.

Click here for more information about events

Our Mission

We 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

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 half-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 Unitarian Universalists to local and state-level policy  initiatives that seek to build a world community of peace, liberty and justice for all.

Donate Now

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.