CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Formerly incarcerated individuals representing about a dozen organizations held a rally outside the Cook County Jail this Independence Day weekend, fighting for their own independence and that of others who have been in prison.
They marched and rallied Saturday outside the jail and the criminal courts building.
One man said he's been out of prison for 37 years and, despite having obtained a master's degree, owning a home, and being married, still could be denied employment.
A woman said 25 years after her time in prison, she couldn't chaperone her daughter's graduation.
“Story of my father: he’s an 86-year-old man, was a welder, retired and he decided to get him a job driving buses. They refused him that job because they said in 1955 he was caught with a knife after turning himself in after a dispute with a cousin. He wasn't convicted,” the man said.
Illinois State Representative LaShawn Ford said how can they celebrate the Fourth of July with — as one man noted — hundreds of laws on the books keeping them down.