WAUKEGAN – On July 25, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton met with Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg, his staff and a group of Lake County Jail inmates to speak about the positive changes in programming being implemented at the Lake County Jail.

During the roundtable discussion, Stratton had an opportunity to hear from inmate program manager Mary Turley, re-entry specialist Angelica Barbosa-Gomez and several inmates.

The conversation consisted of topics such as addiction and the need to reduce barriers to treatment, addiction counseling and programs that continue treatment upon being released from custody, stable housing/housing support upon being released from custody, methods to seek adequate and stable employment upon being released from custody, and long-term vocational skills programs to increase marketable employment skill sets for inmates.

Since taking office in December 2018, Idleburg has implemented the following additional academic and vocational educational programs in the Lake County Jail:

• General Education Diploma (GED)

• English as a Second Language

• Basic Computer Skills

• Microsoft Office Instruction

• Nail Technology (credits toward state licensing)

• Culinary Art Theory (certificate program)

• Spanish for English Speakers

• Re-Think Your Thinking (addresses criminal and addictive thinking/behavior)

• Personal Development (classes and workshops)

• Narcotics Anonymous for Women (previously only offered to male inmates)

• Read to Me Story Book Project (incarcerated parents are video recorded reading a book. The book and video recording is sent to the inmate’s child.)

• Yoga (based on the Prison Yoga Project)

These programs are in addition to other vocational and academic programs already being offered.

The new programs are designed to increase the number of skills provided to inmates to assist in their re-entry into the community upon their release from custody.

The primary goal is to reduce recidivism.

“I don’t want the Lake County Jail to be a revolving door for inmates; thus, one of my substantial goals as your sheriff is to noticeably reduce recidivism in our community,” Idleburg said in a news release. “The only way we can accomplish this is by working together as a community, providing rehabilitative, educational and vocational opportunities in the jail setting.”