Johnson appoints director of reentry to lead office to help people leaving prison

A man who served more than 26 years in prison was appointed Thursday to helm the city's Department of Reentry to help people leaving prison acclimate to life outside.

Joseph Mapp has worked as director of reentry at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation for three years and has served on the Illinois Coalition for Higher Education in Prison since 2022. Mapp served more than 26 years after he was charged as an accomplice in an armed robbery that led to a murder in 1993.

“We will work to bridge city government and the community to identify, support and scale up programs that identify successful pathways for reentry,” Mapp said at a news conference Thursday morning. “I do not take this lightly.”

The office — with a $5 million budget funded by cannabis tax revenue, according to the mayor’s office — is set to start drafting a policy agenda for 2025 and work to make existing resources more accessible for people leaving prison. The Department of Reentry operates under the Mayor's Office of Community Safety Team.

Mapp said the department added a message to city job postings encouraging people who had served prison time to apply. He succeeds Willette Benford, who was appointed in June 2022 by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Previously, the director of reentry didn't have an office or a permanent budget but was tasked with implementing suggestions from the “Roadmap for a Second Chance City” drafted under Lightfoot's office.

Johnson said connecting people leaving prison with resources for housing and jobs is important in helping people stay out of prison.

“We’re seeking opportunities to change the trajectory of their lives so they don’t repeat the sins of the past,” Johnson said.

“There have been policies in the past that have demonstrated they’re not effective. [The solution] isn’t policing alone, it’s about lifting people up and investing in them on the front end. … These resources will give them the best chance to become strong, resilient residents in our society.”