Illinois lawmakers are hoping a new bill requiring prisoner education will mean less repeat offenders. Representative Kelly Cassidy says the plan would require the Illinois Department of Corrections to provide GED courses to prisoners serving more than a year.
“We should be focusing our resources on the things that are going to make the people under our care better. So they can become productive tax paying citizens.”
According to a report from the Illinois Department of Corrections, less than four percent of inmates participated in GED classes last year. State figures show almost half of all people released from prison end up going back within three years.