22 libraries open in two Illinois prison facilities, IDOC announces
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — The Illinois Department of Corrections expanded a partnership program on Thursday by opening 22 new 'Freedom Libraries' in two state prison facilities.
Since 2022, the IDOC has been partnered with the national non-profit Freedom Reads to open libraries in prisons for use by inmates. The libraries are described as being 'carefully curated collections shaped by poets, novelists, philosophers and avid readers,' with works ranging from classics like 'The Odyssey' to contemporary pieces like 'Invisible Man.'
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Six of these libraries opened three years ago — five in the Logan County Correctional Center and one in the Lincoln Correctional Center. On Thursday, the number of libraries ballooned to 28.
16 libraries were opened in the Illinois River Correctional Center, a men's prison, and six were opened in the Decatur Correctional Center, a women's prison.
'Books are windows to worlds other than our own that allow us to dream beyond current circumstances, and access to them can be a lifeline for incarcerated individuals as an invitation to think, grow, and imagine new possibilities,' IDOC Director Latoya Hughes said in a news release. 'By bringing Freedom Libraries and the Inside Literary Prize into more facilities, we're expanding opportunities for the individuals in our care to engage with the transformative power of language. We're proud to partner with Freedom Reads to support programs that foster reflection, learning, and critical thinking skills.'
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The Inside Literary Prize is the first-ever US-based literary prize awarded exclusively by currently incarcerated people. The prize is awarded each year to one of four shortlisted books by a jury of 300 incarcerated readers from prisons across the nation. This week, 25 incarcerated readers at both Decatur and Western Correctional Centers are serving as judges for the 2025 Prize.
This year's shortlisted books are Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, This Other Eden by Paul Harding, On a Woman's Madness by Astrid Roemer, and Blackouts by Justin Torres.
The winner of the 2025 Prize will be announced in July.
'Freedom Reads has always been about showing up for those inside,' Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts. 'We are showing up this week in Illinois, bringing handcrafted Freedom Libraries full of great literature and the Inside Literary Prize to hundreds of folks inside prisons. The Freedom Library and Inside Literary Prize are about more than just access to books, they are about starting conversations and community around literature, and reminding those Inside that they have not been forgotten. We are grateful to the Illinois Department of Corrections for their partnership in both of these important endeavors.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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