Why Were We Left Behind?

That was the question that bounced around in my head for a few days after reading “The Youth Left Behind,” by Elbonie Burnside and Margaret DeFrancisco. I scoured through the masterfully crafted piece until my eyes burned, then I scoured some more; falling asleep with their words echoing through my mind:

“Once again, a pathway toward redemption has been blocked — not by our actions, but by a system still unwilling to account for growth, change, and humanity.”

But what was I looking for exactly? I am one of the youth left behind, yet the seemingly rhetorical question stands: Why are the youth being left behind? Is it really because we have a system that is unwilling to account for growth, change, and humanity? Illinois is a state run by Democrats who believe in the values of growth, change, and humanity — right?

The Democrats have a supermajority trifecta (a majority in the House, Senate, and a Democrat as the governor), so it should be a cinch to pass legislation that is supported by years of empirical data, saves taxpayer dollars, and makes communities safer.

Yet, criminal legal bills that have all of the aforementioned elements continue to fail — even when they involve the youth — if the bill is retroactive (applying to all). My mind has been truly boggled by this continuous denial.

I think of Sen. Robert Peters and his bill SB2256, which would have created a process for people to petition the courts to reevaluate their sentences after serving ten years. And HB1241, a bill introduced by Rep. Maurice West, that would grant judges the authority to decide appropriate sentences for people younger than 21 on a case-by-case basis, instead of the mandatory minimums.

The list goes on and on — and they ALL FAILED!

Meanwhile, the incarcerated youth in Illinois, the late adolescent carveouts — even the small number of those who were under 21 when their crime was committed — age out of crime.

Most work and educate themselves wherever the opportunity is given to them. All of them grow old due to the harsh long sentences they were given, which no longer serve the interest of justice. The great Angela Davis, in the article “The Meaning of Freedom,” gives us some true insight into the failed legislation attempts. She asserts:

“The prison industrial complex has become so big and powerful that it works to perpetuate itself. It’s literally self-perpetuating. The raw materials are immigrant youth and youth of color ... This is something that the United States has basically offered to the world: a way of managing social problems by refusing to confront them. Instead of solving issues, the system puts people behind bars.”

When all is said, the system continues to perpetuate itself, and marginalized communities of color are the ones that suffer the most. Our governments spend more and more to house people in prison. They spend more and more to hire, train, and equip police officers, and less and less on education and community investment — thus perpetuating the prison industrial complex and keeping poor communities poor.

So please, read the article “The Youth Left Behind” and get active. Share the story. Write to your legislators. Email them. Call them. Communicate with them on social media. Use one or all of these forms of communication and let them know your needs.

Let them know that you support pathways to redemption, not just deterrence and retribution. Ask them to pass legislation that acknowledges — in the words of Burnside and DeFrancisco — “growth, change, and humanity ... because real lives hang in the balance.”