Senator Kirk Joins Bipartisan Coalition to Announce New Sentencing Reform Legislation
Kirk-driven provisions use bill savings to fight gangs of national significance in Chicagoland
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) released the following statement after joining a bipartisan group of Senators to announce the new provisions and cosponsors of the criminal justice reform bill.
“Every year in Illinois, we are spending approximately $60,000 per prisoner to incarcerate individuals who leave prison more dangerous than when they arrived. Everyone agrees that the nation’s current prison system is broken and in need of significant reforms. As a centrist, I have joined colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure the savings from this bill go to fight gangs of national significance in Chicagoland. Our communities cannot afford to lose another generation of children to gang violence and drug use.”
Senator Kirk worked with the bipartisan leaders of this bill to include language that requires the Attorney General to submit to Congress a report that details how the savings from this bill are being used, and requires a portion of the savings to:
- Increase investment in law enforcement and crime prevention to combat gangs of national significance and high-level drug traffickers through the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Programs (HIDTA) and other related task forces;
- Hire, train and equip law enforcement officers and prosecutors;
- Promote crime regulation programs using evidence-based practices and strategic planning to help reduce crime and criminal recidivism.
The revised bill is now cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 37 senators and supported by a broad and diverse array of organizations and interests. In a recent letter of support from the National District Attorneys Association, the largest association of prosecutors in the country, the organization’s president wrote, “As a result of months of changes and good faith negotiations, our organization feels the latest version of the bill strikes the appropriate balance between targeting the highest level drug traffickers plaguing our communities, while simultaneously decreasing crime rates and addressing the burgeoning prison population.” The bill enjoys support from coalitions representing more than 400 groups and organizations across the political spectrum.
