Illinois Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Children

The Illinois Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Children (ICFSC), a project of the Children and Family Justice Center, is a body of attorneys, academics, advocates, faith and community organizations, and individuals committed to ensuring the fair treatment of children in our juvenile and criminal justice systems, and ending the extreme sentencing of youth. ICFSC has made great progress in the past several years: providing a strong voice to achieve policy reform, playing a significant role in pushing the U.S. Supreme Court to rule positively in Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana, strengthening relationships with policymakers, and providing support and training for attorneys, advocates, communities, and family members resulting in some successful outcomes in resentencing hearings. In the next year ICFSC will broaden its focus to address community solutions for those returning to society after decades in prison, expanding and diversifying the voices involved in policy reform efforts, and magnifying and accelerating its strategies for applying the principles articulated in Miller and Montgomery to those young people facing and serving life-like and discretionary life sentences.