Uptown People's Law Center

01/27/2026

In moments like this, when state violence is once again impossible to ignore, abolitionist leadership matters.

We’re proud to celebrate our colleague and esteemed Prisoners’ Rights Advocate, Stanley Howard, on being named Death Penalty Focus’s 2026 Abolition Award Honoree.

The Abolition Award is given each year to an individual or group whose work inspires us to understand that the ongoing struggle to abolish the death penalty, in the face of fierce and entrenched opposition, is a just, humane and urgent pursuit.

Congratulations, Stanley, on this well-deserved recognition. Thank you for your extraordinary contributions to human rights, including your role in helping to end the death penalty in Illinois, and all that you continue to do on behalf of people in prison in Illinois and beyond.

01/22/2026

The Illinois Department of Corrections has made its mail-scanning policy permanent. We strongly condemn this decision.

Mail is not a privilege. It is a lifeline. For people incarcerated in IDOC, letters are often the primary way to stay connected to family, community, and critical support networks.

For legal aid organizations like Uptown People’s Law Center, this policy has serious consequences. We represent people incarcerated across Illinois and receive and respond to more than 2,000 letters from people in prison each year. Scanning and delaying mail does not just isolate people from their loved ones. It jeopardizes the confidentiality, sanctity, and timeliness of legal mail.

We will continue to speak out against policies that undermine access to counsel and human connection.

12/27/2025

Illinois law makes it a felony for prison staff to engage in sexual activity with people in custody. Yet despite these protections, abuse still happens, often in silence.

Federal and state standards meant to prevent and monitor sexual abuse in prisons are being weakened, leaving survivors with almost no one to turn to. This is why state action taken by UPLC and our partners matters the most. We can protect people on an individual level and stand up for survivors.

Thanks to a generous matching gift from UPLC board members, your donation will go twice as far to protect survivors, hold perpetrators accountable, and fight for systemic change.

❣️Give today and help us stand with survivors: www.uplcchicago.org/2025

12/19/2025

A DOJ report confirms a crisis of sexual abuse in Illinois prisons, including at Logan Correctional Center. The women we represent there are survivors of sexual abuse by prison staff.

Your year-end gift supports legal action, accountability, and justice for women in prison.

Donate Today: www.uplcchicago.org/2025

12/09/2025

Women in Illinois prisons continue to face sexual abuse by the people who are supposed to keep them safe. Without an attorney, survivors cannot seek justice and more women are harmed.

Your year-end gift can help hold abusers accountable and protect those still inside.

Give before December 31: uplcchicago.org/2025

12/02/2025

It’s ! Every minute counts.

UPLC may be rooted in Chicago, but our work spans Illinois. Last year alone, we traveled more than 1,000 miles across the state to meet clients inside 17 prisons and connected with 39+ community partners across Chicagoland.

Help us raise $8,000 today to protect people in Illinois prisons. Your gift fuels urgent legal help, fights sexual abuse, supports mental health, and challenges solitary confinement.

New donors-- or anyone increasing their gift today-- will be entered to win a UPLC tote!

No gift is too small. Join us: https://uplc.networkforgood.com/projects/265197-2025-giving-tuesday

12/01/2025

Tomorrow is !
We’re raising $8,000 by midnight to fight for people in Illinois prisons.

Every gift helps us:
-Protect women from sexual abuse
-Support urgent mental health needs
-Challenge solitary confinement
And much more

New donors or anyone who increases their gift will be entered to win a UPLC tote!

Even a small gift makes a difference. Give early and support people in prison this Giving Tuesday!

Donate now: https://uplc.networkforgood.com/projects/265197-2025-giving-tuesday

11/10/2025

Free webinar THIS Wednesday!

Join UPLC for a free webinar on the Just Housing Amendment, a Cook County law that protects people with criminal records from housing discrimination.

November 12th from 12-1pm

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/OHYkEdznT7yJPqeHcJ5u_A

10/30/2025

Finding stable housing after prison shouldn’t be impossible, but for too many people it still is.

Join Uptown People’s Law Center for a free webinar on the Just Housing Amendment, a Cook County law that protects people with criminal records from housing discrimination.

This event is for system-impacted people, their loved ones, and service providers who want to better understand housing rights and how to fight back against unfair denials.

November 12th from 12-1pm
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/OHYkEdznT7yJPqeHcJ5u_A #/registration

10/23/2025

Our 2025 annual report is out! From housing and disability justice to prisoners’ rights, see how donor support is making a difference in Uptown and throughout Illinois. Read the full report here:
https://www.uplcchicago.org/2025-annual-report.html

09/19/2025

IL DOC is now scanning, and destroying, mail to people inside. Gov. Pritzker just signed a new law collecting data on how contraband is entering prisons, so why is this being done now? Tell JCAR to stop this:
(217) 785-2254
[email protected]

09/18/2025

“There’s this culture — [Illinois] DOC officials, going all the way up to the director, have known about it for years and have done nothing to remedy it,” said Nicole Schult, legal director at UPLC. More coverage of our lawsuits about sexual assaults by prison staff on WTTW - Chicago PBS:

Seven current and formerly incarcerated women filed federal lawsuits over the last week alleging sexual assault, harassment and institutional retaliation at Illinois’ primary women’s prison, Logan Correctional Center.