Investigations Unit
The Investigations Unit of Investigations and Intelligence is the watchdog for the integrity of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Maintaining integrity in public safety organizations is a dynamic process - one in which public safety agencies try to address, combat and prevent misconduct. The unit acts as the central repository for policy complaints that cannot be handled at the institutional level and for criminal complaints. It investigates charges of misconduct against correctional officers and employees of the department.
Furthermore, the unit investigates charges of criminal acts by correctional officers and employees with assistance from the Illinois State Police Division of Internal Investigation (DII) where appropriate. The unit objectively conducts thorough, impartial and timely investigations to determine the validity of allegations. The results of these inquiries may provide a basis for criminal prosecution, corrective administrative action, or both.
The Investigations Unit pursues wrongdoers diligently. In addition, its investigators work vigorously to exonerate those they find wrongfully accused while actively seeking prosecution of those making malicious and false accusations.
The Investigations Unit is provided complete, unrestricted access to all department documents, facilities, staff, records and any other information related to complaints and special independent investigations. Because of the sensitive nature of the subject matter, the incumbent is responsible for the strict observance of confidentiality by all subordinate staff members. All reports generated by the Investigations Unit are reviewed by supervisory staff and then forwarded to the chief of Investigations and Intelligence for final review and approval.
During FY 2003, the Investigations Unit conducted 207 investigations compared with 212 in FY 2002. Fiscal year comparisons reflect that in FY 2003 the Investigations Unit and State Police DII opened 255 cases compared to 259 in FY 2002.
The Investigations Unit obtained 15 resignations in FY 2003 compared with 25 in FY 2002, a decrease of 10 (-40 percent). Additionally, there were 12 discharges resulting from investigations by the Investigations Unit in FY 2003 compared with four in FY 2002, an increase of eight (200 percent).
In FY 2003, investigators obtained 32 arrests or indictments as a result of investigations by the Investigations Unit. In FY 2003, the Investigations Unit presented 37 cases for prosecution compared with 51 in FY 2002, a decrease of 14 (-27.4 percent). Of those presented for prosecution, nine cases were accepted for prosecution in FY 2003 compared with 17 in FY 2002, a decrease of eight (-47 percent).
The Investigations Unit saw five convictions in FY 2003 compared with 11 in FY 2002, a decrease of six (-54.5 percent). There were seven cases that were refused prosecution in FY 2003 compared with 21 in FY 2002, a decrease of 14 (-66.6 percent).
In FY 2003, the Investigations Unit assisted the department’s Office of Staff Development and Training in the execution of a 40-hour Institutional Investigator curriculum. A total of 99 staff members attended. They included facility investigators and intelligence staff and internal affairs support staff.
The Investigations Unit is overseeing the realization of the re-write of Administrative Directives relating to Internal Investigations. The revised directives are anticipated to become effective in FY 2004.
The chief of Investigations and Intelligence and an administration and operations supervisor oversee the operation of the Investigations Unit. The organization of the Investigations Unit provides for the administration supervisor to address the administrative issues of the Investigations Unit, including policies and procedures, training, audit of institutional Internal Affairs Units and special projects for the chief.
The operations supervisor oversees the day-to-day functions of the Investigations Unit and supervises the investigators. The Investigations Unit ended FY 2003 with 14 investigators and three office support personnel. The Investigations Unit has offices located in Aurora, Champaign, Chicago, Joliet, Ottawa, Peoria and Springfield.
Central Intelligence Unit
In attempt to eradicate gang activity from the department, the state legislature authorized and mandated the agency to develop an Intelligence Unit. In compliance with House Bill 4124, the department established the Central Intelligence Unit (CIU).
It is the primary mission of the CIU to collect, identify, enter and disseminate information involving individuals or groups of individuals, both within and outside of the department, who pose a threat to the safety of the public, staff and inmates and to the security and orderly management of a correctional facility.
The CIU is comprised of the central intelligence coordinator, who reports directly to the chief of Investigations and Intelligence. Northern and southern regional coordinators, also serve as the department’s law enforcement liaisons and supervise five adult division district coordinators, a juvenile division district coordinator and a Women and Family Services district coordinator. Subordinate to the district coordinators are institutional Intelligence Units located at each of the department’s 34 institutions throughout the state.
The CIU has also established three specialized Intelligence Units, one located jointly with the Chicago Police Department at the headquarters of the Chicago Organized Crime Division, Homan Square, one located in Carbondale and the Intelligence Center located at the Joliet Complex. These satellite Intelligence Units serve as the department’s internal intelligence resource centers and are used by the institutions as well as executive staff for acquiring information relative to security threat groups and incidents. They also serve as intelligence outposts for use by outside law enforcement. Countless criminal cases, both new and old, have been solved as a direct result of intelligence gathered by the department’s Intelligence Units and developed by the satellite offices.
Security threat groups are not new to Illinois institutions and without a doubt are one of the most critical issues confronting the Illinois Department of Corrections. CIU has established that approximately 50 percent of the entire male prison population and approximately 18 percent of the entire female population have been documented as affiliated with a security threat group. It was further determined that approximately two-thirds of the population housed at maximum-security facilities align with a security threat group. CIU has identified 88 separate security threat groups active in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Security threat groups within the correctional setting attempt to function similarly to that of security threat groups on the street. They offer protection, financial reward and access to drugs and other contraband. By their very nature, security threat groups are predatory, thus influencing virtually every major management decision. Security threat group members often exhibit a low tolerance for and inability to deal with frustration and anger. Members frequently challenge and lash-out against authority as the opportunity manifests itself.
The Illinois Department of Corrections recognizes that the unregulated activities of these criminal enterprises pose a direct threat to public safety and the safety and security of each custodial facility and undermine the public confidence of the department to carry out its mission for the citizens of the state of Illinois.
Since the formation of the CIU and the subsequent formation of the institutional Intelligence Units, the number of gang-related incidents within the department has dramatically declined. Gang-related assaults on both staff and inmates have become nearly non-existent. This decline in gang-related incidents is due largely to the proactive posture established by the CIU.
The CIU is used in emergency situations such as escapes, hostage situations, major disturbances and any other incident that would require intelligence resources. The unit routinely identifies and tracks members and leaders of security threat groups, monitors incoming and outgoing mail, reviews and pre-approves job assignments for inmates affiliated with security threat groups, conducts intake and exit interviews, performs master file reviews, monitors inmate telephone conversations and conducts covert investigations of staff misconduct.
The unit has established an excellent rapport with outside law enforcement agencies and has assisted law enforcement agencies with information regarding narcotics, robberies, extortion, conspiracy and homicides in addition to providing information regarding security threat group activity. To date, the law enforcement liaisons have fielded more than 10,000 requests from law enforcement agencies.
Legal Services
The Illinois Department of Corrections Legal Services Division has offices located in Chicago and Springfield. The office consists of a chief legal counsel, six staff attorneys, a paralegal, a docket clerk and support staff. The mission of Legal Services is to provide department administrators with legal advise and counsel on an array of issues, coordinate legal representation with the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, draft legislation, assist assistant attorneys general with discovery and case management, train staff on legal issues, respond to correspondence, handle Human Rights matters and a host of various other assignments.
During FY 2003, Legal Services eliminated the Attorney of the Day, which was a program in which lawyers would rotate on a daily basis to respond to calls and inquiries. The lawyers are now assigned to a district or specific area, which includes Districts 1-5, Parole, Juvenile and Women and Family Services. The lawyers have satellite offices in some of the facilities and work closely with staff at these facilities. The reorganization now fosters a better working relationship and provides the attorney with more familiarity with the facility operations.
Lawyers from Legal Services submitted several proposals for potential legislation. The proposals addressed areas of hunger strikes, contraband, juvenile issues, freedom of information, sex offender management and good conduct credits. Legal Services wrote the proposed legislation and has submitted it for review by the department.
Legal Services has actively worked to notify institutions of the new HIPPA regulations. Training is provided to staff and questions are responded to daily about the issues regarding release of medical information. Daily inquires are addressed concerning medical information release that affect numerous areas within IDOC.
During FY 2003, Legal Services worked with the Illinois State Police to comply with a recent law for Genetic Specimen Collection (DNA) of inmates. Legal Services wrote the Administrative Directive to establish the procedures for the collection of DNA. Inmates are now tested at the facility prior to release and while on parole. The specimen is sent to the Illinois State Police for processing. The results are located on the State Police database.
Legal worked with the department to organize and implement a plan for security staff to be certified in use of the Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). The SCBA is used when responding to a fire. Security staff volunteers to wear SCBAs. Training, then testing, was provided to the volunteers. Facilities are now certifying the volunteers for use of SCBA.
Legal Services obtained a new docketing system. The new system will allow for better case management with giving the legal staff the opportunity to make more entries about the files. There are 7,000 cases pending involving the department or its employees. This system is compatible with the courts and allows legal staff to post notes on files that can be read by other lawyers. This new system will promote efficiency and accessibility for the legal staff.
Legal staff provides continuous training to staff through cycle training. Areas addressed include the use of force, Americans with Disability Act, litigation coordinator’s training, employment issues, arrest issues, sexual harassment and issues involving departmental rules.
A Federal Civil Rights complaint was filed back in 1997 that has generated much discovery and trial preparation. In this federal lawsuit, 27 sexually dangerous persons contended that their confinement as civil committees under the Illinois Sexually Dangerous Persons Act was unconstitutional because they were confined within a state prison and because their treatment was insufficient. The plaintiffs were seeking injunctive relief, compensatory relief and punitive damages under Section 1983. They sought to be housed in a separate facility, totally segregated from a criminal prison population. They also sought individualized treatment rather than group therapy. Such remedies would have been costly for the state. On June 17, 2003, the 7 th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the District Court’s rejection of the defendants’ argument of qualified immunity and directed the case be dismissed. The 7 th Circuit held that civil confinement of accused sex offenders in a prison setting with treatment conducted on a group basis did not violate the constitution. This was an important win for the State of Illinois.
In 2001, IDOC drafted legislation to amend the law to require that inmates provide the state with assets information. This legislation was passed in 2002, becoming effective on Jan. 1, 2003. To ensure that IDOC complied with the statutory amendment, Legal Services drafted a new IDOC form, the Offender Financial Status Report and worked with the Policy and Directives Unit to revise related Administrative Directives. Legal Services also worked with Fiscal Services on reviewing a contract with an outside consulting company and educating its personnel about the new possible reimbursement procedure.
Some of the lawyers from Legal Services have been appointed special assistant attorney general to handle the defense of matters along with assistant attorneys generals. The lawyers of legal services actively work to defend these matters. The appointment allows for the lawyers to bring their specialized knowledge to the case.
Legal Services lawyers have reviewed numerous settlement demands. The lawyers evaluate the case and the settlement demand. A recommendation is made to the chief legal counsel concerning the settlement demand. Settling of cases has saved the state thousand of dollars.
Legal Services attorneys work daily to address issues involving staff, inmates, personnel, fiscal, medical and numerous other areas. The lawyers are dedicated professionals who strive to provide the best service to the department.
Chief Record Office
The Office of the Chief Record Officer monitors and oversees day-to-day operations, sets policy and provides training for all adult and juvenile record offices. The office implements and monitors inmate commitments and sentence calculations for accuracy and acts as the conduit between the institutional record offices as well as city, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and judicial systems. Employees also provide expert testimony in calculation-related court proceedings, including testimony for death penalty cases.
On Jan. 11, 2003, former Gov. George Ryan commuted the sentences of 167 inmates who were sentenced to death. He also pardoned four inmates who were sentenced to death. Record Office personnel completed the commutations to accommodate the move. Inmates were moved into general population at Stateville, Menard and Dwight.
Transfer CoordinatorÕs Office
During FY 2003, the Transfer Coordinator’s Office (TCO) continued to perform its primary responsibility, which is to monitor inmate movement, both adult and juvenile, from the time the inmates are received into the custody of the department until they are released from custody. At the end of FY 2003, the department was housing slightly more than 43,100 adult inmates and 1,500 juveniles. The number of adult inmates housed represented a slight increase from the previous fiscal year, while the number of juveniles housed was essentially the same, if not slightly lower.
The TCO determines initial placement for an inmate once he or she is delivered to the department, as well as any subsequent movement. The paperwork for any subsequent transfers flows through the TCO and back to the sending institutions on a daily basis.
The TCO also monitors the operation of the Central Transportation Unit (CTU), which currently consists of a fleet of 33 buses and their escorting vehicles. With the exception of Lawrence Correctional Center, at least one bus is assigned to each adult facility to transport inmates to and from their respective facilities. During FY 2003, the CTU moved approximately 1,100 inmates each week.
The TCO took part in a number of projects in FY 2003. The TCO was involved in the closures of the Sheridan Correctional Center and Greene County IIP, as well as adult transition centers in Urbana, Rockford (Winnebago), Joliet and Chicago (Metro). In addition, the work camps in Paris and Hanna City were closed. The TCO was responsible for finding alternative placement for the inmates affected by those closures. The TCO also worked in conjunction with Management Information Systems in the implementation of the automation of Meritorious and Supplemental Meritorious Good Time awards.
Prior to Governor Ryan’s commutation of death sentences, the TCO had to prepare profiles on all inmates sentenced to death who were incarcerated in condemned units. Following the commutation of their death sentences, the TCO was involved in the movement of all inmates from death row.
Office of Communications
The chief of the Office of Communications supervises public relations and public affairs efforts for the department and represents the agency at speaking engagements. The office serves as a source of information for the general public, news media and other groups.
During FY 2003, the Office of Communications served on numerous projects initiated through the Governor’s Office in fulfilling the initiatives of the governor and director. These initiatives included the following:
Operation Spotlight
This program, which is a major initiative of Gov. Blagojevich, enhances safety on the streets of Illinois through increased supervision and monitoring of parolees. The Office of Communications highlighted Operation Spotlight in the Governor’s Tent at the Illinois State Fair. The project involved researching and interpreting a four-year plan of caseload statistics as well as designing and developing an information display, brochures and other support materials. The office also coordinated the parole staffing for the 10-day exhibit.
First Lady’s Beautification Initiative
The Office of Communications served in the initial planning stages of the First Lady’s Beautification Initiativeregarding IDOC’s role and interaction with other agencies. The beautification initiative involves the landscaping and planting of wild flowers along state highways, parks and toll ways. IDOC greenhouses and properties will be used for seeding purposes. IDOC staff and inmate workcrews are involved in clearing brush, planting and maintaining various areas at state parks and properties.
Team Illinois
The Office of Communications continues to represent the agency in serving as a partner of Team Illinois. This recent initiative of Gov. Blagojevich coordinates state resources in providing help to four of the state’s most disadvantaged communities. The Illinois Department of Human Services is managing the Team Illinois project. Pembroke Township, Savanna, Aurora (East Side) and Alexander County were the four communities identified to be strengthened with infrastructure, economic development and social services.
As part of the initiative, the chief of the Office of Communications met with community leaders at stakeholder meetings at all four Team Illinois locations to identify short-term and long-term needs. As a result, IDOC will provide landscaping and roadside cleanup through the use of inmate workcrews to enhance the community’s environment in Pembroke Township. IDOC will also work to identify job training and other programming needs for ex-offenders in Pembroke Township and Aurora.
The Office of Communications also provided information regarding IDOC employment opportunities at Team Illinois Resource Fairs. The office developed job display booths for all four locations. In Aurora, the agency’s display board was featured both in English and Spanish. The chief of the Office of Communications discussed job opportunities to the largely Hispanic population who attended. The office also coordinated Canine Unit demonstrations at all the resource fairs.
Team Illinois is an ongoing effort. The Office of Communications continues to work with Team Illinois liaisons to help address community needs and to identify other locations in need of assistance.
Public Information
The office responds to some 12,000 telephone inquiries annually and as many written and e-mail requests for public information.
Office objectives include generating public interest in the department and providing accurate information about its programs and operations. The office was successful in securing a variety of informative media pieces and television spots during FY 2003. These included IDOC’s role in a number of investigations and operations working with other law enforcement agencies, including federal, state, county and city police, the U.S. States Attorney and the Illinois Attorney General. In addition to these efforts, the office continues to work with the Governor’s Office, Attorney General’s Office and other state agencies in announcing specific IDOC operations, programs and goals.
Office staff accompanied the media and other groups on tours at IDOC facilities including Pontiac, Dwight, Tamms, Lawrence and Illinois River Correctional Centers. Staff continues to accommodate media, photographers and other interested groups regarding the former Joliet Correctional Center, which was one of IDOC’s oldest maximum-security prisons for males.
During FY 2003, the office assisted the Prisoner Review Board with the logistics of the death row commutation hearings in Springfield and Chicago. Responsibilities included typing and mailing hundreds of letters and working with the Governor’s Office and State’s Attorneys’ offices. The office also assisted IDOC personnel with logistics following the commuted sentences of 167 inmates from death row to the general population.
The office was additionally involved with agency events during FY 2003, such as the Correctional Officer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year. Speeches, brochures, news releases and articles were developed to accommodate and recognize these annual events.
In addition, the office publishes DOC Report Online, an electronic newsletter that is distributed to employees internally and featured on the agency’s website. The electronic version was introduced to reduce printing costs of the agency’s former newsletters, Perspectives and DOC Report.
DOC Report Online focuses on theme-oriented articles detailing the agency’s operations, philosophies and management initiatives as well as recognizing employees for their departmental, community and personal achievements. FY 2003 articles covered the movement of death row inmates into general population following the Jan. 11, 2003, action. Other articles include recognizing the agency’s Correctional Officer of the Year, Ed Lewis at Pontiac; IDOC winning top honors in the state employee charitable donations program; IDOC staff and inmate workcrews providing cleanup following a series of tornadoes; the Early Retirement Incentive and its impact on the agency; and IDOC’s participation in the Illinois Law Enforcement Torch Run to benefit Special Olympics.
Other publications include the agency’s annual report and various program and informational brochures.
In FY 2003, nearly 700 FOIA requests were processed. Inmates filed 70 percent of these FOIA requests. Other requests came from the general public, businesses and law firms as well as the media. With assistance from staff serving as FOIA coordinators at each prison and youth center, hundreds of inmate requests for information were granted at individual facilities and withdrawn.
The Office of Communications also supervises content for IDOC’s website. During FY 2003, the office developed a comprehensive plan to emphasize employee recognition on the agency website. An Employee Highlights link will feature sublinks that include DOC Report Online, Employee of the Month, Employee of the Year, Correctional Officer of the Year, IDOC’s Fallen Heroes and Employee Profiles. The office and Management Information Systems are working together to place the material into production to be featured on the Internet and forthcoming Intranet.
During FY 2003, the office began arranging a partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Corrections (NIC) to conduct a three-day Public and Media Relations Training Program at Springfield’s General Headquarters. The program, which will be provided in FY 2004 to executive staff and wardens, is designed to develop and refine skills for communicating with the public and the media. Training will be highly interactive and videotaping will be used to help participants refine their interaction and presentation skills.
The office also assumed the responsibility of overseeing and facilitating the meetings of the Adult Advisory Board, which convenes four times a year at designated facilities. Through informative presentations and tours, the board’s purpose is to make recommendations regarding policy matters and programs to the director. The office ensures the logistics and communication needs are met.
The Office of Communications also helps to update a number of outside publications, such as the ACA’s annual directory regarding facility information and statistics and the State of Illinois Blue Book.
In addition, the office supports the director’s initiatives and agency goals through the development of speeches and letters that specifically address a variety of audiences and individuals relating to their respective interests and issues.
The office also developed new display boards to support affirmative action recruitment efforts. Photos and text were updated to represent the agency’s wide scale of jobs. The office also mailed letters, applications and flyers to the Hispanic Caucus, Black Caucus and other interested groups and communities as part of the agency’s minority recruitment efforts. The office provided support for the director’s goal of focusing IDOC employees on becoming one team. The combination of cadet and parole agent graduation into a single ceremony is one of those efforts.
The Office of Communications continues to focus on promoting the agency’s goals by meeting with communities and developing and disseminating relative, accurate and timely information.
All actions within the office are geared toward conscientious fiscal responsibility. One vital aspect of the agency’s fiscal responsibility is communicating the status of IDOC prisons.Through the direction of the Governor’s Office and director, the chief of the Office of Communications has been meeting with legislators, community leaders, citizens and other interested parties in addressing questions regarding the status of IDOC prisons, such as Thomson, Hopkins Park, Grayville, Stateville R&C and Rushville.
Audiovisual
During FY 2003, the audiovisual lab was able to complete a long-term project to help manage IDOC video footage. All broadcast quality footage of IDOC facilities and programs shot by the audiovisual lab since 1995 was viewed and logged into a searchable database. The completion of this project, along with the FY 2002 completion of a similar project involving footage acquired before 1995, should provide a ready reference to video footage for future IDOC staff.
The annual video catalog produced by the audiovisual lab was converted from the antiquated desktop publishing program that had been used for the catalog’s production since FY 1991. This allowed for the smooth conversion of the catalog into a Microsoft Word file. The Microsoft Word version of the catalog was then added to the agency Intranet. This will allow staff in the field to readily access the catalog “on-line,” and save printing and distribution costs associated with distribution of the updated catalog.
The audiovisual lab continued to meet its ongoing goal of supplying department wide services in several areas. A total of 305 video loans were made during FY 2003, while video titles duplicated totaled 400. These levels were typical of the totals experienced during the staff reductions and budgetary problems of the early 1990s. Equipment loan requests, which had dramatically increased in the recent years, dropped back to a level typical of the mid-1990s.
Victim Services
The goal of the Office of Victim Services is to improve the involvement of the victim within the criminal justice system. The unit strives to reduce victimization through education within an environment of integrity, fairness, compassion, dignity and respect.
The core component of the Office of Victim Services is notification and information about the status of offenders under the supervision of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Legislation and departmental policy and procedures guide the process of victim notification within IDOC. Activities are completed that augment the notification and information process including distribution of informational brochures, information access via Internet, the toll-free number and assurance of victim confidentiality.
Office of Victim Services provides direct services to victims. Services include crisis intervention and other emergency services intended to restore a victim’s sense of safety. The office assists with participation in criminal justice proceedings including advocacy, support in the courtroom, during parole hearings and information on the status of offenders under IDOC supervision. The office also assists with victim impact statements and provides assistance to services including referrals for mental health services and counseling, filing for compensation, linking victims to shelters, food and clothing and in filing orders of protection. The Office of Victim Services also listens to the victim and provides empathetic support and assistance.
The Victim Services Unit was created in 1997. In the past year, the unit helped more than 950 victims.
The unit’s toll-free number, (877) 776-0755, eliminates the burden of cost to those individuals who contact the Office of Victim Services. Through the Attorney General’s Office, victims have access to the new Illinois Automated Victim Notification system. This bilingual 24-hour telephone service provides information concerning offender custody and case status. The system also provides automatic information about offender status changes to registered victims. The Illinois AVN’s toll-free number is
1-866-5-NOTIFY (1-866-566-8439).
Volunteer Services
The Office of Volunteer Services is located within the Concordia Court Complex. This unit is made up of volunteer co-coordinators and chaplains from each facility, providing programs and services otherwise not available to the incarcerated men, women and youth located within the Illinois Department of Corrections.
It is the responsibility of Volunteer Services to continuously update the Administrative Directives responsible for the actions of the more than 5,000 volunteers and to be certain each facility coordinator is processing the volunteers appropriately.
During the past year, IDOC volunteers have donated more than $2 million in time and goods to the inmates. Volunteers assisted in meeting the religious needs of inmates as well as offering drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation. Many of the volunteers work with the inmates who are about to leave prison, teaching them what to expect on the outside and how things have changed since their incarceration. Volunteers hold church services, Bible studies, parenting classes and pre-start classes. The coordinator of Volunteer Services is there to offer guidance and support to each of the facility volunteer coordinators.
In April 2003, the Volunteer Appreciation Banquet was held to honor the Volunteer of the Year nominees selected from each facility. It was a difficult decision to make due to the integrity, faithfulness and determination of all the volunteers.
The Volunteer of the Year for FY 2003 was Shirley Ryan. She was recognized for her extraordinary effort last summer in creating the “Mom and Me Camp” for inmates and their children at Lincoln Correctional Center. Ryan combined her gentleness as a friend and counselor with the attitude of a businesswoman and organizer to accomplish this goal. Because of her efforts and relationships with other volunteers and staff at East Bay Camp, the vision of a summer camp for inmate children became a reality. She recruited volunteers and raised funds to help bring 43 children to their incarcerated mothers for three-days of structured activities that were a supportive and positive experience.
Elizabeth Scholtz representing the Attorney General’s office was guest speaker at the annual banquet, along with several IDOC representatives. The IDOC Honor Guard also performed.
In May 2003, IDOC honored those who gave their lives in the line of duty. The Illinois Correctional Employee Memorial Association sponsored the ceremony. Several dignitaries presented remarks. The IDOC Honor Guard also participated in the ceremony.
The memorial ceremony was followed by the announcement of the 2003 Correctional Officer of the Year. This person is chosen for attendance, appearance, attitude, initiative, volunteer work, continuing education and leadership. After much deliberation, Correctional Officer Ed Lewis of Pontiac Correctional Center was named 2003 Correctional Officer of the Year. He was given a plaque and check for $500. Dignitaries offered their congratulations to Lewis and all of those chosen as nominees.
Parole
As the parole initiative entered its third year, the emphasis continued to be on field-based supervision of the offender. During FY 2003, 21 parole offices across the state staffed by 27 parole supervisors and approximately 340 parole agents supervised an average of 32,332 offenders and generated the following monthly average:
- 23,500 face-to-face contacts
- 55,074 drug tests
- 12,000 collateral face-to-face contacts
- 14,258 warrants being issued
- 14,656 placement investigations
- 58,440 offender check-ins
- Face-to-face compliance 91.75 percent
Agent offender face-to-face contacts increased to 267,320 in 2003. Face-to-face interactions in the home increased by 67,000 contacts. Face-to-face contacts in the school doubled. To enhance officer safety and weapon proficiency, the annual required weapons qualification was augmented by an additional practice shoot, which included close-quarter drill to provide the agents with a more realistic field practice experience.
An upgrade to the parole agent’s IWIN laptop allowed the agents and parole supervisors to access the inter-agency e-mail system from the field, reducing the amount of field-based supervision time lost in trips to the parole office for updated information and paperwork.
The Parole Division continued its relationship with the Chicago Police Department involving parole and police compliance checks (PPAC). During this reporting period, the project resulted in thousands of contacts, which included compliance interviews and drug urinalysis. The PPAC program in the Chicago area remains an unqualified success and this year has been expanded to areas throughout the state.
With near record numbers of parolees being released into Illinois communities from prison, the governor’s Operation Spotlight parole reform initiative seeks to improve supervision and provide agents with the tools to move parolees away from crime and recidivism.
As part of Governor Blagojevich’s Operation Spotlight program, the number of parole agents on the street will double from 370 to 740 over a four-year period. Increased agents will help improve supervision and monitoring of parolees as well as allow the department to target higher risk populations.
In FY 2004, the Parole Division will promote community safety through parole enforcement, case management and community integration. Parole is committed to the service concept through use of community-based resources in areas such as employment and treatment.
The numbers may increase, but it is only through proper training and resource utilization that the division can truly make a difference.
