Attention all IPT Members:

[ielene]

Attention all IPT members:
 
As most of you already know there is a phone campaign to reduce the price of phone calls for Illinois inmates.   If you are new to the IPT and have not yet signed the online petition, please do so by clicking on this link:
http://www.illinoistelephonejustice.com
 
IPT is a wonderful place to get the support we need from others, who are also going through the same things. When no one else understands we can always depend on IPT to get us through whatever crisis we are having at different times. While our friends and family sometimes don’t understand the impact of having an incarcerated loved one, our IPT family understands how emotionally consuming and financially draining it can be.
 
We have all experienced the high cost of telephone calls.  We all know how important the calls are for our inmates to feel connected to us and the outside world. 
 
Dazzler, Forevermah, Jims and Scout and all Staff work very hard day and night keeping IPT up and running and a safe place we can all share. They are also very involved with prison issues that will help those incarcerated.
 
Right now they need us to give back to them some of the support they have offered us through IPT. They have been working on the Phone Campaign for a year now and more signatures are needed. If every active member could get 13 signatures (that is ONE page) we could be well on our way to cheaper phone bills.  In my experience, getting signatures on this petition is not difficult as many others are also experiencing the high cost of calls. This is something that affects everyone, and 13 signatures is not many to gather, but could make a huge impact at winning this phone war.
 
IPT is growing each and every day and if we can win this Campaign on Telephone Justice it would open new doors for IPT. Who knows - maybe some day we can get better living conditions, food and hopefully some rehabilitation in the prison system.  One step at a time and the first step is to lower the cost of inmate phone calls.
 
SO LET’S ALL BAND TOGETHER AS A FAMILY AND GET THE SIGNATURES WE NEED. THE PETITIONS CAN BE PRINTED OUT AT THE LINK ABOVE. IF YOU ARE FEELING REALY MOTIVATED YOU CAN ALSO PRINT OUT THE PETITION FOR EARNED RELESE AND GET SIGNATURES AT THE SAME TIME.  THE CER PETITION CAN BE PRINTED HERE:
http://www.ilcer.org/howyoucanhelp.html

[Dazzler]

I'd like to make an additional comment and update everyone about this Campaign for Telephone Justice.  Scout, Mah and I will be meeting Monday, Feb. 4th, with Lauren Melodie of the Center for Constituional Rights from New York.  She was behind the successful DOC phone campaign for New York state inmates and their families.  The Center has offered it's full support and expertise to us to win our phone war in Illinois.  We are looking forward to meeting with her and getting this Campaign moving this year.  Please continue to gather signatures to end the high cost of our phone calls here in Illinois.

The Phone War is going to be a primary focus of our forum this coming year...something that will benefit everyone who communicates with inmates in Illinois...families, attorneys, friends...

[Dazzler]

Mah, Scout and I met with Lauren today and had a very productive meeting.  She thinks our Illinois campaign can be won in one year.  She gave us some wonderful suggestions and advice.  She was impressed that we have so many activist groups, prison organizations, etc. as members of IPT and we've got a wonderful database of contacts, something New York did not have before it began it's phone campaign.  We have about 600 signatures on our online phone petition and another couple hundred on paper petitions.  We need more signatures before we approach any legislators...which is going to be our next step.  We need some friendly legislators to propose our bill to the State.  We also need to collect all available information about Consolidated's contract with the IDOC, the amount of $$$ paid in commissions to the DOC and those responsible for negotiating their contract.  We need to draft the text of the proposed legislation and we need to get others involved. 

A first step will be to form a committee of IPT members that are willing to work on the campaign.  If you'd like to volunteer to be on this committee please leave your name in a post. 

What New York accomplished is amazing.  And it was done by inmate families with the help of the Center for Constitutional Rights.  The NYDOC was raking in over 25 million dollars a year in commissions from MCI..the inmate telephone company...and this came from inmate families.  The Governor eventually cut the cost of calls in half and the connection fee.  Through further negotiations he lowered it even more....and out of staters pay the same rate as instate calls....I believe 16 cents per minute and a little over one dollar for a connection fee.  International calls are also permitted. 

This is going to be a priority here this year...so who's going to volunteer for the Committee?

[Scout]

I believe that it's actually 6 cents per minute...but we'd have to confirm that with Lauren.

[Dazzler]

Okay, maybe that's what she said...she'll be sending us her notes.....

[SMD]

so who's going to volunteer for the Committee?


What would you have to be doing?

                                                       SMD

[jlnjy]

Ielene I will volunteer to help in however I can.

I do have a question, if I get the persons verbal permission, can I add it to the list or do I need the hard copy of the signatures only. Once I have the hard copy signatures, can I post the information to the online link or submit it elsewhere?

Thanks

JL

[ielene]

After you print the petitions there is an address at the bottom of the page that goes to Dazzlers P.O box. As far as having consent I don't have the answer for that but just to be safe I would just do the paper.

[Dazzler]

Yes, if you'd like you can transfer your signatures to the online petiton.  That's fine.

[Dazzler]

I'm telling you members now that Scout has found the contract between Consolidated Communications and the IDOC...and I'll tell you....you are going to be ******** off when you see how much money the state is making off of inmate families for these phone calls....it's gonna make New York's look like chicken feed.....OMG...

Scout will be posting the contract tomorrow....unfriggenreal....

[jlnjy]

I'm bracing myself for the feeling of being taken advantage of with those rates but I also know its going to be the fuel for my fire to help put an end to the abuse.

[momm316]

I guess I have been very naive again because I know the price of collect calls
is very high, but it sounds like it is very much out of line.  The 20 years my
son was in a maximum security prison, he didn't call very much, so it wasn't
too much of a financial inconvenience, but since he has been in a medium
(August), our monthly Consolidated bill has been very high.  My husband
pays that bill and complained about it recently.  So the next time I saw from
the caller ID that it was  my son, I wasn't gonna answer it, but my husband
said go ahead.  However, it is a lot of money when he calls two or three
times a week.  I don't think he realizes how much it is and how often he's
calling. 

So, I'll be very much interested in hearing the details of the Consolidated
and IDOC relationship.

Thanks for all you folks do for IPT members.

Blessings,
Momm316

[WAID]

Please don't tell me it's more that what is already on the ICTJ web site:

‘During Fiscal Year 2006, the Department of Corrections received $5,299,992.00 in telephone commissions, per the Comptroller's website.'

That's highway robbery as it is! We are tax paying, law abiding, voting, consumers that pay for that service & we shouldn't stand for it!
Aren't politicians or government employees who take bribes & kickbacks supposed to go to jail? Then wasn't there a law passed about utilities not being able to monopolize, we consumers should have a choice in providers. If anybody gets commisions, it should be us, like credit cards paying me back incentives for using them.
Seriously, this is ******* me off again & I don't even know how much it is.

[Schrader42]

I'd like to see that contract with them.  I'm sure I'd be ******** but if any help os needed, please let me know.  I'm willing to do whatever just to get these bills lowered.

[Scout]

I'll be posting the contract tonight, I want to convert it to PDF so it's easier to open (and read), I can only do that at work. 

[Favored23]

I WILL PROBABLY BE PASSED OUT ON THE FLOOR WHEN I SEE IT. 

LADIES COUNT ME IN!!!!!!!!!!  LET ME KNOW WHAT I CAN DO TO HELP!!!

[ielene]

What can I do to help? just let me know.

[walking_stick]

count me in too... anything i can do i will.

[Dazzler]

Well, I'm hoping that soon we're going to start a calling campaign to the director of the DOC and the governor's office...and let it be known that we don't want another contract signed with Consolidated that is putting astronomical profits into the State's pocket while breaking the back of inmate family members.  It's outrageous!  We need more petitions signed.  The state makes so much money in kickback commissions that they pay NOTHING...not one dime to Consolidated for providing inmate phone calls....they just reap the rewards...and they are incredible.

[downtownchicago]

We need a lawsuit.  Sorry, I need to review this entire issue.  Do we have an attorney already ?  I know there was a prior lawsuit.  I think with this new data we can prove that we're being unfairly taxed.  We're not just paying for the service, we're grossly OVERPAYING.