December 8, 2011 Communications Committee Meeting

Audience

Open to the public

Date/Time

December 8th
2:00pm-4:00pm

Location

Metropolis 2020
30 W Monroe
13th Floor
Chicago, IL  60603

823 E Monroe
Springfield, IL  62701

Agenda

  1. Call to Order
  2. Roll Call
  3. Approval of minutes
  4. Prepare for release of SB1725 Juvenile Reentry Improvement Study
  5. Raise the Age
  6. SB2151 - Sex Offender Bill
  7. Other Items / Next Steps
  8. Next meeting date
  9. Adjournment

Minutes

  1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 2:03 PM.
  2. Roll Call: Chairman Esther Franco-Payne, Commissioners Julie Biehl, Dana Weiner, Michael Rodriguez. Quorum present. Staff present: Julie Stremlau, Jeff Bradley, Lin Ferguson. Guests: Jim Bray, Susan Witkin.
  3. Approval of minutes: Commissioner Biehl made a motion to approve the minutes with amendments as discussed. Commissioner Weiner seconded the motion. All in favor. None opposed. Minutes of the October 27, 2011 meeting were approved.
  4. Review of release plan Review of release plan for SB1725 Juvenile Reentry Improvement Study: The Press release will be held on December 13, 2011. Commissioner Biehl reported that 40 color copies of the report were sent to  Karrie Rueter for distribution to the Legislative Office on the day of the press  release. On Friday, December 9, 2011, 330 copies of the report will be mailed  from Julie Biehl's office with a letter from Chairman Timberlake which includes his contact information. Jim Bray added that Karrie is working to have the report converted to a compatible format for the State of Illinois website to have it ready  for posting on the IJJC web page the day of the press release. Jim Bray has prepared a news release highlighting the main points that will peak interest in people and hopefully generate some interest in getting the full report. He has contacted 200 news agencies/editorial boards making them aware of the news  release that will be done via conference call with Chairman Timberlake, Director Bishop and Commissioners Jacobs and Biehl present to answer questions from the press. Jim Bray has received requests for embargoed copies of the report which allows the reporters to read it prior to the release so they can prepare questions. If you are contacted by a reporter prior to the news release ask them if they are abiding by the embargo, if so, you may talk to them and answer their questions which won't be published before the news release.  Jim Bray will ask Betsy Clarke what she has in mind concerning national distribution. He suggested that it might be  best to have her send it, since recipients may be more receptive to reading an e- mail from her.
    Commissioner Weiner reported an overall savings of the plan and compared the 
    savings to after care. Jim Bray suggested that a statement be prepared that these are early cost savings estimates and when better knowledge of the savings is available, a report will be provided to the General Assembly. Commissioner Biehl suggested that at the next Communications Meeting, January 19, 2012, we spend a significant portion of time on this subject, review the assumptions and finalize numbers. Michael Rodriguez added that the Hispanic community is also involved in a study/report of this type. He will be participating in that press release on Monday, and he would like to be involved with the community briefings on this. He proposed a meeting with Commissioner Biehl, Mariame Kaba and some others concerning juvenile expungement efforts.
  5. Raise the age: Commissioner Michael Rodriguez will send his comments on this study concerning immigration to Stephanie Kollmann. The Committee will ask the Commission for their guidance on moving forward with this report. Chairman Timberlake, Commissioner Jacobs and Stephanie Kollmann are going to talk to AOIC to get a commitment concerning the data needed to move forward. Stephanie is at 58% response rate. She can easily get it up to 65%, but the selection of responses should come from central or southern Illinois. Stephanie will provide a matrix of who was contacted and who responded to the request for interviews. Commissioners will meet to discuss how to move forward with this report. Chairman Franco-Payne will coordinate calendars to get a date for the meeting.
  6. SB2151 - Sex Offender Bill: Commissioner Biehl reported that the IJJC voted to supply funding to the project.  She is working to put together a coding sheet for use when looking at files. They will seek permission to look at probation files, because they have the most relevant information to find behaviors that correspond to sex offender charges.
    1. Social Marketing: Consultation with Jeff Bradley on social marketing for the Reentry study.
    2. Results Based Accountability: No report.
  7. Other Items / Next Steps: Jim Bray will ask Betsy Clarke for a national distribution list for the Reentry Report and find out what she has in mind concerning distribution.
    Stephanie Kollmann will attempt to reach people one more time for interviews concerning the Raise the Age Survey and then end her interview process. Consult with Jeff Bradley concerning social marketing for the Reentry study.
  8. Next meeting date: January 19, 2012.
  9. Adjournment: Commissioner Biehl made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Commissioner Weiner seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 3:38 PM.