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An Evaluation of the Illinois Department of Correnctions' Gang-Free Environment Program
Co-principal Investigators: Laura Gransky Dorman and Ernie Cowles

In July 1998, Center for Legal Studies (now the Institute for Legal and Policy Studies) staff began an evaluation of the gang-free environment created at Taylorville Correctional Center (TCC). Unlike other states where members of rival gangs are housed together, Illinois’ approach is unique in that only inmates identified as non-gang members are housed at the TCC. It is believed Illinois is the first state correctional system that has separated inmates who are not involved with gangs from those who are involved. The IDOC proposed that through the development of an environment free of gang tensions and rivalries, inmates would take advantage of programs directed toward their personal development and growth, thus encouraging their rehabilitation. Because the study’s duration was short (i.e., 5 months), the evaluation design developed was limited in scope and followed a process evaluation focus. As such, primary emphasis was placed on documenting the underlying assumptions that guided the development of the gang-free environment and assessing the implementation process.