Illinois § 15

§ 15.

Curriculum and eligibility. The civics peer education program shall consist of a rigorous curriculum, and participants shall be instructed on subjects including, but not limited to, voting rights, governmental institutions, current affairs, and simulations of voter registration, election, and democratic processes. Each workshop held at the Department of Corrections shall consist of 3 sessions that are 90 minutes each and that do not need to be taken consecutively. The workshops held at the Department of Juvenile Justice shall consist of 270 minutes of instruction. The Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice must offer re-entering citizens scheduled to be discharged within 12 months with the civics peer education program, and each re-entering citizen must enroll in the program one to 12 months prior to his or her expected date of release. This workshop must be included in the standard exit process. The Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice should aim to include this workshop in conjunction with other pre-release procedures and movements. Delays in a workshop being provided shall not cause delays in discharge. Committed persons may not be prevented from attending workshops due to staffing shortages, lockdowns, or to conflicts with family or legal visits, court dates, medical appointments, commissary visits, recreational sessions, dining, work, class, or bathing schedules. In case of conflict or staffing shortages, re-entering citizens must be given full opportunity to attend a workshop at a later time. (Source: P.A. 101-441, eff. 1-1-20; 102-374, eff. 1-1-22.)