IL HR1069

Urges the Governor and Department of Corrections to discourage prosecutors from recommending and judges from sentencing low-level drug offenders to county jail or the Department of Corrections.

Urges the Governor and Director of Corrections to release low-level drug offenders currently serving sentences in Department of Corrections facilities to home confinement.

Cites that incarceration costs exceed costs of home confinement and treatment, and that confining minor offenders diverts resources from protecting the public from violent offenders.

Recognizes drug addiction as a medical problem in addition to a criminal justice issue, with treatment preferred over jail time for persons convicted of possession of small quantities of controlled substances.

Notes that drug possession sentences disproportionally impact the poor and disadvantaged.