Press Release: Constitution Day Rally to Restore Second Chances Will Spotlight Extreme Sentencing in Illinois
WHAT: Constitution Day Rally to Restore Second Chances
WHEN: Thursday, September 17, 2026, 11:00 AM–12:30 PM
WHERE: Outside the Office of Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Human Rights, 555 W. Monroe St., Chicago
Chicago, IL: On Constitution Day, Thursday, September 17, criminal justice reform advocates, community members directly affected by extreme sentencing, and supporters from across Illinois will gather for the Rally to Restore Second Chances, calling on state leaders to address long-term incarceration and fulfill the state’s constitutional commitment to rehabilitation and reintegration.
The rally will be held from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM outside the Office of Governor JB Pritzker & the Illinois Department of Human Rights, located at 555 W Monroe in Chicago. Hosted by Parole Illinois and Citizens for Elder Parole, the demonstration will urge Gov. Pritzker and other lawmakers to support Earned Reentry (HB 2764) and other meaningful solutions to excessive punishment.
The Illinois State Constitution declares that the objective of imprisonment is “restoring the offender to useful citizenship.” At the same time, Illinois is one of just 17 states without a discretionary parole system for the vast majority of people in prison. As a result, thousands face “death-by-incarceration,” with no opportunity to demonstrate their rehabilitation and rejoin their loved ones.
If nothing changes, taxpayers will continue to spend millions of dollars per year for needless incarceration that fails to improve public safety, while Illinoisans who have “aged out of crime” and shown their readiness to contribute to their families and communities are left to grow old and die behind bars.
By expanding parole eligibility to all individuals who have served 20+ years, the Earned Reentry bill would incentivize rehabilitation and bring Illinois in line with the 30+ states across the country that have recognized the value of second chances, especially for people convicted as youth and young adults.
At the rally, attendees will hear directly from lived experience speakers like Johnnie “Khalif” Veal, who came home in 2021 after serving more than 51 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
At the time, Veal was among fewer than 100 “C-number” inmates—people uniquely eligible for release consideration because they were sentenced before Illinois abolished discretionary parole in 1978. His release was possible because he had something most people currently serving long sentences in Illinois lack: the chance to demonstrate that he was ready to return home. Earned Reentry would create a similar opportunity for people sentenced since 1978.
Today, as the founder and Executive Director of Project Sound Off, a grassroots advocacy organization, Veal champions the reinstatement of reentry opportunities for all incarcerated individuals. “Expanding parole eligibility isn’t just about policy—it’s about humanity. It’s about recognizing that people can change and that redemption is real.”
On September 17, Veal will speak alongside other returning citizens who have dedicated their lives to dismantling mass incarceration, including Marvin Alexis (Chicago Votes), Jamal Bakr (The Firehouse Community Arts Center), Max Cerda (Latino Reentry Reintegration Services), Stanley Howard (Uptown People’s Law Center), Renaldo Hudson (Illinois Prison Project), Janet Jackson (Women’s Justice Institute), and Paula Sims (Women’s Justice Institute). Together, their testimonies at the Constitution Day Rally to Restore Second Chances will provide a powerful reminder that rehabilitation is possible–and that our state must fulfill its promise of “restoring the offender to useful citizenship.”
