Beginning immediately, non-privileged mail will be opened and inspected for contraband, scanned in color, then be uploaded to an individual’s tablet, the department announced Monday. Nearly all incarcerated people now have tablets, according to the department.

Seven current and formerly incarcerated women filed federal lawsuits over the last week alleging sexual assault, harassment and institutional retaliation at Illinois’ primary women’s prison, Logan Correctional Center.

The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules objected to the Illinois Department of Corrections’ emergency rule allowing facilities to electronically scan mail. The objection does not stop the department’s emergency rule, which paves the way for IDOC facilities to transition to scanning incarcerated peoples’ mail, instead of giving them physical mail.

The change comes after debate over the safety of physical mail. IDOC states that these emergency rules are intended to prevent the smuggling of contraband and hazardous substances into correctional facilities.

Lockdowns can be indistinguishable from solitary confinement-like conditions, with those incarcerated given little yard time and limited access to educational programming and commissary.

Many who’ve been through restrictive housing attest to extreme isolation and confinement in small, dark, windowless cells. Phone and tablet use can be restricted. Yard or outside time is limited.

The law gives victims the right to file impact statements ahead of hearings, provides them with additional notice when their offender is granted early release, and allows them to seek an order of protection against an offender who is incarcerated.

Every year, incarcerated people in Illinois file post-conviction petitions, compiling evidence of police misconduct, violations of constitutional rights or claims of actual innocence. It’s a vital tool for those alleging injustice to get a new trial or be resentenced.

Several family members and advocates with loved ones incarcerated in prisons across Illinois told WTTW News that their in-person visits have been canceled by the Illinois Department of Corrections due to short staffing or lockdowns. Those visits are crucial for those inside and their loved ones, serving as a connection to the outside world and relationships.

Meet the real women behind the new Disney Plus series ‘Meet the Spartans,’ inspired by a rugby team born inside the walls of San Martin Prison in Argentina. Their pioneering program known as Las Esparantas uses rugby to build community, confidence and a path away from reoffending.

Professional rugby player Eduardo “Coco” Oderigo started a sports rehabilitation program for men in one of Buenos Aires’ most restrictive prisons. Now, almost two decades later, the program has expanded to include women.

The single-term Republican leaves behind a complicated history. He spent five years in federal prison after being convicted of racketeering, bribery, extortion, money laundering and tax fraud for actions during his term as secretary of state. However, while in the governor’s mansion, Ryan commuted the death sentences of 167 men on Illinois’ death row in 2003.

The prison was closed in 1963 due to crumbling infrastructure and the high costs of repairing and supplying the island facility, because everything from fuel to food had to be brought by boat.

“Housing is obviously unaffordable for everyone, but it is especially the case for people who have records,” said Ahmadou Dramé, director of the Illinois Justice Project. “Without a stable place to live, you can’t begin to triage all the other challenges that a person has to be navigating.”

After 12 years, the class action lawsuit over living conditions at Stateville Correctional Center that helped bring the prison to a close was settled Thursday.

Uptown People’s Law Center and Equip for Equality filed a class action lawsuit against IDOC Director Latoya Hughes on behalf of the nearly 13,000 people with mental illness in the state’s prisons — approximately 44% of the population.