John Howard Association of Illinois
Defying Injustice. Defending Humanity.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Need: A More Just and Responsive Correctional System in IL (1) The Need for System Accountability: Without JHA's independent, non-partisan monitoring, our large and closed prison system would be left to police itself, and the public would have no access to or knowledge of what actually happens inside the prison system it funds. (2) A System Marked by Inequity: Imprisonment disproportionately affects minority individuals and families, and those living in poverty. JHA is a leader in pushing the State to address this issue through adoption of new policies and increased transparency so that the numbers can be scrutinized by the public. (3) The Need for More Humane Conditions of Confinement: JHA works to ensure that those who are incarcerated are treated with dignity and that their civil and human rights are respected. Our monitoring visits focus on the conditions of confinement and treatment. We are the only independent, nonpartisan organization in Illinois doing this work.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Adult and Juvenile Prison Monitoring
To monitor prison conditions and programs, JHA staff and volunteers tour every adult and juvenile prison in Illinois to observe, collect data, and talk to those who live and work inside the prisons. We also execute a voluntary, anonymous survey with incarcerated individuals and prison staff. Our visits result in reports that inform the public, media, and law and policy makers about the issues inside Illinois’ prisons.
Advocacy
JHA’s advocacy program includes: advancing legislative initiatives; serving on advisory boards to Illinois correctional agencies; providing expert testimony to state and national legislative and executive branch committees and commissions; and writing reports which promote policy change by elected officials and state agency leaders. JHA is also frequently quoted in the media.
Prison Communications Program
JHA's Prison Communications Unit receives hundreds of letters, calls and emails annually from incarcerated people and their loved ones who report concerns; we read and track them all. This window into the lived realities of Illinois prisoners informs all of JHAs work.
Where we work
Awards
Award for Creative & Effective Institutions 2015
MacArthur Foundation
Silver Award for JHA website redo 2020
Golden Trumpet Awards
External reviews
Photos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The John Howard Association, or JHA, independently monitors correctional facilities, policies and practices, and advances reforms needed to achieve a fair, humane and effective criminal justice system in Illinois.
Why does John Howard Association fight for criminal justice reform?
• We believe that all lives matter
• We believe in second chances
• We believe in government accountability and transparency
• We believe that Illinois deserves a fair, effective and humane prison system
JHA’s vision for Illinois is to achieve a smaller, rehabilitative criminal justice system that supports incarcerated individuals so they may return to society as productive citizens.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The John Howard Association (JHA) is Illinois' only non-partisan prison watch dog and correctional policy organization. JHA's primary activities are:
(1) Monitoring all of Illinois' prisons, both adult and juvenile
(2) Advocating to improve the criminal justice and prison systems
(3) Reading and tracking issues/concerns reported in all letters, calls and emails from incarcerated people and their loved ones.
JHA believes that in order to attain a fuller understanding of the ramifications of correctional policies crafted by lawmakers and prison officials, it is critical that the perspectives of the people who are incarcerated and work in prisons are afforded serious consideration; this has always been a core component of our approach to citizen monitoring. We gather these perspectives through our prison visits, inmate/former inmate/prison staff interviews, survey responses and thousands of annual letters to JHA. JHA also solicits the opinions of those who have re-entered society from prison.
Together, JHA's program areas provide a holistic view of the criminal justice and correctional systems in Illinois. We use our unique vantage point to be the eyes and ears of the public, which allows us greater exposure to and understanding of the issues, which enhances our ability to promote important change.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
JHA was founded in 1901 to provide critical citizen oversight of the state’s adult and juvenile correctional facilities; we continue this same mission today. We are independent, nonpartisan and the sole prison watchdog in Illinois. The value of our work cannot be overstated. As the only oversight mechanism for a dangerous and closed system, JHA is in a singular position to see what others cannot, which allows us to inform stakeholders and the public about what is truly happening to thousands of people in our State. JHA’s monitoring reports and work are frequently the foundation of prison reform efforts by our partners such as the ACLU of Illinois, including policy change and litigation. JHA works with allies and uses our expertise and understanding of correctional operations to find common ground with our opponents, allowing us to drive effective policies that will lead to a more humane and effective system with better results for individuals and the public.
Our staff is comprised of individuals with varied expertise in criminal justice. Our Board of Directors includes both formerly incarcerated individuals as well as former IDOC employees, in addition to other members.
JHA is uniquely positioned to provide prison system oversight because:
1. We work on both micro and macro levels. We both help prisoners with individual issues and provide insight into larger system problems with recommendations for change.
2. We listen to and act as the voice of those inside prison walls. Without JHA, this voice is often unrepresented. Further, we hold privileged mail status in the Illinois Code, allowing prisoners to freely share information with us in writing.
3. We have unique, long-standing relationships with IDOC and IDJJ. These strong relationships are based on mutual respect and increase JHA’s ability to get information and data from the Departments.
4. We combine legal expertise with vast criminal justice experience. Importantly, however, we do not handle litigation, enabling us to remain unbiased in our approach to system change.
5. We use and help develop standards for correctional oversight in order to promote system transparency that allows us to then hold agencies accountable. We do this by leading, presenting and participating in national symposiums and conferences with other organizations that seek to hold government accountable and improve systems that impact peoples’ lives and health.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Just some of JHA's recent achievements include:
- JHA successfully led the effort to abolish the $5 medical co-pay for people incarcerated in Illinois prisons after seven years of advocacy. The new law went into effect 1/1/2020, ensuring that prisoners can access healthcare free of charge.
- We successfully pushed for expansion of programmatic sentencing credits, making them available to people traditionally excluded from such benefits including those who have been incarcerated for several decades (this new law took effect 1/1/2020).
- JHA led the charge to require increased collection of information and public reporting of information on deaths in custody of Illinois law enforcement agencies (via the Death in Custody Reporting Act).
- We surveyed the entire IDOC incarcerated population about COVID-19 and IDOC's response to the pandemic in 2020, receiving more than 16,000 responses (an almost 50% response rate!). This is
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals, to advocate for change in our prison system
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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John Howard Association of Illinois
Board of directorsas of 01/19/2024
Mr Paul Titterton
GATX
Term: 2023 -
Arthur Don
Greenberg Traurig
Regenia Stein
Ingenuity Consulting
Craig Huffman
MetroEdge
Aviva Futorian
attorney
Jawanza Hughes
Morningside Asset Management
Angela Weis Gammell
Wilson Center for Science & Justice at Duke Law
Evan Griffith
Exelon
W. Ken Berry
Winston & Strawn
J. Kevin McCall
Jenner & Block
Paul Titterton
GATX
Joni Stahlman
retired
Amanda Penabad
Federal Defender's Office
Tim Fidler
Ariel Investments
Brian Massengill
Mayer Brown
Rachel Pate
Chicago Community Trust
Vanessa Johnson
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Renaldo Hudson
Illinois Prison Project
Walter Burnett Jr
City of Chicago Alderman
Mara Klebaner
Sidley Austin LLP
Lina Ragep Powell
Jenner & Block LLP
Anne Sullivan
AHS Strategies
Lynnette Mays
Dovie's Closet
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/21/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.