Crime & Law

Group That Sends People in Prisons Supportive Cards and Letters Adjusts to Illinois’ New Mail Rules

Every Monday, volunteers with Pushing Envelopes Chicago gather in the basement of Second Unitarian Church of Chicago to reply to letters from a network of 600 incarcerated people across Illinois prisons. 

The organization’s P.O. Box contains a myriad of correspondence: thank you cards with a Mickey Mouse in a top hat, letters detailing horrific incidents in prison and applications from prospective pen pals, asking to be linked to a correspondent outside.

“They write the good, the bad; they write when they’re in an emergency, when they really feel like they need support,” said Io Reed, a volunteer with the organization. “You see the Pushing Envelopes community in real time with all these letters.”

Since 2013, the prison abolition collective has processed mail from largely LGBTQ people incarcerated in Illinois. Volunteers respond with the collective’s quarterly newsletter, which includes stories and comics written by others incarcerated, legal education and re-entry resources. They’ll send holiday and birthday cards to members. They also match people on the inside and out to be pen pals.

How those materials are delivered has recently changed.  

Now, incarcerated Illinoisans will not be able to possess the original, physical copy of the mail they receive from the organization — or anyone from the outside. 

Last week, a state legislative oversight committee permitted the Illinois Department of Corrections to formally adopt a permanent rule to scan most physical mail sent to incarcerated people and distribute it digitally on an individual’s tablet. That does not include privileged material, such as legal mail.

The ruling comes after AFSCME Council 31, the union that represents most correctional workers in the state, and Republican lawmakers, argued that scanning mail is necessary to prevent contraband from entering facilities. It’s unclear how many drugs enter IDOC facilities through the mail, according to data obtained by WTTW News in February.

Critics of the change, like Pushing Envelopes, say the loss of physical mail is devastating. It’s more meaningful to hold the letter sent from a family than to just read it on the tablet, said Fadell Reed, who’s been a member since he was incarcerated in 2017. 

While Reed was in prison, he asked a friend to share some books and magazines — one of them being the Pushing Envelopes newsletter. He could relate to the writings from other incarcerated people, and the newsletters came at a time when he wasn’t receiving much mail. 

“It just showed that somebody did care,” Reed said.

Organizers also point to longer processing times, with one incarcerated member of the organization saying it recently took two weeks for them to receive a letter. 

Pushing Envelopes Chicago matches people on the inside and out as pen pals. Outside volunteers will send the collective’s quarterly newsletter, which includes stories and comics written by others incarcerated, legal education and re-entry resources. They’ll also send holiday and birthday cards to members. (Blair Paddock / WTTW News)

According to a letter opened at Monday’s meeting, one other incarcerated person had difficulties filling out the organization’s membership form on their prison-provided tablet. Prospective Pushing Envelopes members who are currently incarcerated typically fill out physical sign-up forms and then mail them back to the organization. However, with all mail coming in via tablet, sign-ups now have to be copied from the screen and filled out by hand. 

Under the new rule, individuals may request mail to be printed at no cost.

Physical mail can also help keep people safe, especially those who are LGBTQ and concerned about harassment, said Pushing Envelopes volunteer Jasmine Jordan.

“Getting mail frequently communicates to other people on the inside, there’s someone on the outside that cares about this person; I shouldn’t mess with this person because there is someone on the outside who is their advocate,” Jordan said.

Jordan gave a rundown of Pushing Envelope’s pen pal system to a small group of new volunteers: Black and blue ink only, no glitter, no markers, no paint, per the Illinois Department of Corrections’ rules. 

“You cannot send your pen pal stamps because they want your pen pal to pay for stamps from the prison. You cannot send your pen pal paper because they want your pen pal to buy paper from the prison,” Jordan said. “The more that you write to folks on the inside, the more that you realize that so much of prison has to do with money.”

Letter writing can also teach people who have never known incarcerated people some of the nuances of what happens in prison, Jordan said. 

“It’s really easy to think, I’m going to write someone and it’s going to change their life,” Jordan said. “It’s probably going to change your life more than it changes their life.”

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