Champaign HRC and NAACP Recommendations

The Champaign Human Relations Commission and the Champaign County NAACP met again after November's presentation of their report and recommendations on criminal justice reform (previous post on that here). From the News-Gazette today:

Champaign Human Relations Commission taking action on NAACP's suggestions
Whether it's improving housing availability for formerly incarcerated people or implementing restorative practices in local schools, members of Champaign's Human Relations Commission have taken heed of recommendations made to them by the county's NAACP chapter in the fall and are devising a plan of attack...

Of the half-dozen recommendations presented to the commission, members voted unanimously Monday to schedule meetings with First Followers and the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce to look at ways they can support improving access to housing, jobs and social services for people getting out of prison and returning to Champaign-Urbana.

Commissioners also voted to schedule private meetings with Champaign school district administrators to help integrate restorative practices, address high suspension rates among African-American students and stop what NAACP Justice Reform Chairman Thomas Moore called a "kindergarten-to-prison pipeline."

Full article here, including another HRC recommendation for the Champaign City Council to address the reentry housing issue that allows a discrimination loophole in the City's Human Rights Ordinance. More information on that here. This is a followup of a previous post on the NAACP's original presentation to the HRC last November:

This week's City of Champaign Human Relations Commission meeting (agenda here) included a presentation of the NAACP report on criminal justice. Thomas Moore argued that the report is an educational tool as opposed to a road map and what we've tried over the past forty years hasn't worked. He argued for a new focus on the ineffectiveness of punishment in the system of mass incarceration. He noted that jails are a big part of the problem and a local issue. Video is available here and the NAACP report begins at the 6:20 mark.

Previous post available here. Original News-Gazette article on that here.