Rauner, Pritzker differ on some criminal justice

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner made criminal justice reform and driving down the number of people the state imprisons a centerpiece of his first term. Democratic challenger J.B. Pritzker says more must be done to stop gun violence.

Both major-party candidates for governor have made rehabilitation, sentencing reform, mental health, and more jobs and job skills key pieces of their criminal justice platforms. But they differ when it comes to legalizing marijuana, gun control and the death penalty.

Among his first acts as governor in 2015, Rauner formed a bipartisan commission assigned to come up with ways to reduce Illinois’ prison population by 25 percent by the year 2025.

That commission came up with 27 recommendations to reduce an Illinois prison population that has exploded over the past four decades and doubled since 1987. It recommended a combination of sentencing reform and improved rehabilitative services to send fewer people to prison and reduce recidivism rates that stand at nearly 40 percent. Among the recommendations were to use county jails instead of state prisons for short stays and probation more often for nonviolent offenses, and to reduce mandatory minimum prison terms.

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