A person who served greater than 26 years in jail was appointed Thursday to helm town’s Division of Reentry to assist individuals leaving jail acclimate to life exterior.
Joseph Mapp has labored as director of reentry at Treasured Blood Ministry of Reconciliation for 3 years and has served on the Illinois Coalition for Larger Training in Jail since 2022. Mapp served greater than 26 years after he was charged as an confederate in an armed theft that led to a homicide in 1993.
“We’ll work to bridge metropolis authorities and the neighborhood to determine, assist and scale up applications that determine profitable pathways for reentry,” Mapp stated at a information convention Thursday morning. “I don’t take this calmly.”
The workplace — with a $5 million finances funded by hashish tax income, in keeping with the mayor’s workplace — is about to start out drafting a coverage agenda for 2025 and work to make current assets extra accessible for individuals leaving jail. The Division of Reentry operates beneath the Mayor’s Workplace of Group Security Staff.
Mapp stated the division added a message to metropolis job postings encouraging individuals who had served jail time to use. He succeeds Willette Benford, who was appointed in June 2022 by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Beforehand, the director of reentry didn’t have an workplace or a everlasting finances however was tasked with implementing options from the “Roadmap for a Second Likelihood Metropolis” drafted beneath Lightfoot’s workplace.
Johnson stated connecting individuals leaving jail with assets for housing and jobs is necessary in serving to individuals keep out of jail.
“We’re in search of alternatives to vary the trajectory of their lives in order that they don’t repeat the sins of the previous,” Johnson stated.
“There have been insurance policies up to now which have demonstrated they’re not efficient. [The solution] isn’t policing alone, it’s about lifting individuals up and investing in them on the entrance finish. … These assets will give them the most effective probability to turn into robust, resilient residents in our society.”
