This time, right now, for Illinois prisoners is the “Post Speck Tape” (PST) era. The legacy of that tape has halted the maturation of Illinois prisoners for two generations. Prisoners’ lives “Before the Speck Tape” (BST) was a time when prisoners formed organizations like the Jaycees and Lifers. These groups contributed to charities and provided money to community based programs. They also purchased supplies and paid for services from business in the towns close to the prisons. Prisoners played a large role in their own rehabilitation within the prison by running programs that taught literacy, political awareness, conflict resolution and parenting skills. Educational institutions like Illinois State, Roosevelt University, Lewis University, Southern Illinois University, Mac Murray College and others offered bachelor degrees. Prisoners competed in sports leagues with other prisons and intramural sports competition in their respective prisons. Prisoners wrote, directed and performed plays. They also performed R&B, Blues, Jazz and Gospel concerts and wrote an organized newspaper. These activities fostered a sense of community that mirrored the sense of belonging that exist within healthy outside communities. The “Speck Tape Scandal” overshadowed the progress of prisoners even today. This positive part of the prison culture was erased, dismissed and buried with Richard Speck. The AUC overstated the worst parts of the prison culture and the images on that tape fueled the AUC power grab.
It is undeniable prisons, are at times, violent places but the truth is that prisons run smoothly without any violence 95% of the year. This was also true in the “BST” era as it is in the “PST” era. The 5% of the year when frustration boils over and something violent happens was addressed during the “BST” era in a unique way. In 1993, prisoners formed the African African American Cultural Coalition (AAACC) and the Latin Exchange Coalition (LEC). The prisoners who were earning college degrees and involved in positive programs gained leadership experience and used the two cultural coalitions to spark a transition from the “Gang Think” of that period in which they grew up into a reawakening and understanding of the political awareness and cultural pride of previous generations. Prisoners were getting their minds right, many for the first time in their lives and were going through a maturation away from the “Gang Thinking ” mindset to a collective consciousness by way of commitment to our families and communities. Imagine a group of prisoner sitting around talking about interest rates, home equity, stocks, personal responsibility, etc.
When the prisoners in Stateville helped organize a political party by the name of “21st Century Vote” and ran their own candidate for alderman in a ward long taken for granted by the Democratic Machine, eyebrows were raised. The threat of a growing political consciousness within the prison. a developing intellectual leadership and peace between the Black and Latino communities leaked out into the streets. Not only was the AUC alarmed, but also the larger power structure that had carefully crafted the self destructive and self immobilizing “Gang Think” to repress the unification of Black and Latino communities. The AAACC and the LEC of Stateville had changed the culture of the entire Illinois prison system so dramatically by 1995, that something drastic had to be done.
The Speck Tape is Released
Prisoners vilified/ Public Hoodwinked
The political and institutional bosses released the Speck Tape and outraged the public. That outrage gave them the authority to double down and reset the system. Stateville was locked down for an entire year with wave after wave of Orange Crush (Elite Squad of Guards) shakedowns several times. Outside of the prison, public money poured out resulting in Tamms, Lawrence, Pickneyville and Thompson being built. Thousands of new state employees were hired (mostly guards). More administrators were appointed, resulting in new contracts for goods, services and construction going to political operatives. Laws were changed that lengthened sentencing, the ratio for guards per prisoner changed from 18-1 to 13-1, supervised release extended and more parole officers hired. The Speck Tape Scandal resulted in an explosion of government spending counting well into the billions when you factor in pension liabilities.
The AUC endured a degree of public shame in the fallout from the Speck Tape only to come back bigger and more powerful than ever. Did I mention Richer $$$$$ ??? Prison leaders of all backgrounds like Legal Aides, Program Creators, and any prisoner who exhibited any leadership potential, not just gang chiefs, were shipped out of the state to prisons all over the country until Tamms was built. Many prisoners were put on blackball lists by the AUC and denied jobs therefore they weren’t allowed out of their cells. The AUC didn’t stop there, they dismantled and eliminated all prisoner run organizations and programs, plus all intramural sports and other activities.
In the Post Speck Tape (ERA)
This is the era in which prisons operate today. The AUC moved to prevent the maturation of the mindset needed for the transformation from “Gang Think” to continue. Administrators shifted the balance of spending to severely reduce rehabilitative efforts. Leisure Time Services (LTS) staffs were cut from 6-1. LTS were used to supervise programs, organizations, and sport programs. Prisoners are confined to their cells at least 20 hours a day. Today there is little in prison to foster trust relationships that are necessary in maintaining a resemblance to a community. The most devastating loss was the severance of prisoner connections to their home communities. Real healing was taking place between prisoners and the community where that healing is needed most. An understanding that the struggling prisoners face is not singular to the prison environment, it also has a negative effect on the “Hood.” Truth is of the almost 50,000 prisoners in IDOC, 98% of them are scheduled to be released…released right back into the environment that shaped them. That environment is now more aggressive, less sociable, and more alienated than when they left. The exploitation of the Speck Tape by the AUC is not only affecting the maturation process of changing our mindset, it’s a counter charge, an attack on larger society. An attack that regenerates cycles of poverty and crime only to re-enter unprepared newly released prisoners.
Its a daunting task to regain a healthy dynamic between these three groups. Prisoners have to find allies in those activist, organizations, and groups who reject tyrannical inflicted representations of reform. Our challenge is to overcome the bruised reactions of the “Post Speck Tape” era legacy. We must make the AUC accountable! Prisoners must take action in recreating a community that is unified, uplifting and informational. This must be included as a goal for meaningful Illinois prison reform in 2016.
Prisoner X
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