The City of Kewanee in Henry County is leading the way in a partnership with the Illinois Department of Corrections. Via an agreement between the City and IDOC, inmates at the Life Skills Re-Entry Center in Kewanee are given jobs with the City, in a public works capacity, cleaning cemeteries, picking up trash and so on. These are paid positions and the inmates will have the money waiting for them once they are released says Kewanee Mayor Gary Moore...

The Mayor says the program has proven so successful that other cities are considering a similar IDOC partnership for Life Skills Re-Entry Center inmates.