Help us improve outcomes for justice-impacted individuals. The Restoring Rights and Opportunities Coalition of Illinois (RROCI) wants to learn more about what resources people receive as they are exiting prison. If you were incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections, please take a few minutes to complete our short survey to share your experience.
Gate money—also known as release funds—is the money that some prisons give to people when they are released from the facility. Individuals may also receive a bus or train ticket.
Justice-impacted individuals exiting incarceration in Illinois often receive little or no financial assistance to help them get their lives back on track. But they frequently face immediate challenges when re-entering society, such as securing basic needs like housing, food, and transportation.
Gate money can help with these pressing needs, so that individuals can re-enter society with a better chance for stability and avoid homelessness, unemployment, or recidivism.
Standard gate money amounts vary widely across the U.S. from nothing (Alabama and New Hampshire) to $200 in California, but pilot programs have shown that providing more robust financial support post-incarceration helps individuals transition more successfully back into society.
- Chicago Future Fund provided individuals released from incarceration with $500 per month from November 2021 to April 2023. This support created increased stability, helping people cover basic needs like housing, transportation, and food during the critical first months after release so they could focus on getting back on track.
- New York’s Returning Citizens Stimulus offered $2,750 over three months to recently released individuals. This financial support reduced their risk of homelessness and unemployment, demonstrating that access to funds over an extended period leads to better long-term outcomes for returning citizens.
The Restoring Rights and Opportunities Coalition of Illinois (RROCI) is working to improve gate money policies in Illinois to support individuals as they are leaving prison. Ensuring people have sufficient resources can significantly impact their ability to reintegrate successfully.
RROCI is a collaboration between the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness and Cabrini Green Legal Aid. Through this partnership, advocates and returning citizens work together to enact statewide reentry measures. Since 2016, the group has successfully advocated for ten Illinois laws that support housing and jobs access, housing protections, and records sealing.
