George Peter Jr's profile

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George Peter, Jr.
Reg. No. C-01434
Hill Corr. Center
P.O. Box 1700
Galesburg, IL 61401

PROSE & CONS

Welcome to Prose & Cons. This column is dedicated to the identification—and hopefully—resolution of problems facing Illinois prisoners. I am an activist who has been confined in the state's penal system since 1967. Over the years, I have attempted to engage and educate the outside community on the myriad of issues facing those of us on the inside of America's gulags.

Until now, I have found it difficult to reach out to more than a handful of people at a time; with this blog, I am hopeful that my thoughts and ideas will strike a resonant chord within like-minded individuals and that we can exchange ideas, philosophies, and perspectives on how to successfully navigate our way through this maze of obstacles.

To being this endeavor, my first post—Illinois' Correctional System in Review—gives an expansive overview of a variety of issues confronting the state's prison system and additionally highlights a multitude of problems prisoners encounter on a daily basis. Some—such as the diminution of food being served—affects everyone within the Department of Corrections, while others only apply to prisoners within a few facilities. My other posts—written over several years—provide a historical analysis of corrections in Illinois and the penal system in general.

If you are interested in similar activities and would like to share a friendly word of encouragement, or simply enjoy an intellectually stimulating conversation, I look forward to hearing from you. Any information regarding other state's penal systems would be especially well-received. As a moderately well-educated person, I love to sit down behind a piece of paper, tap into my brain—much more fun than a spinal tap, for sure—, and allow my thoughts to flow.

My other interests are politics (fairly Libertarian) and world affairs, long-distance running, and music (faves are Tish Hinojosa, John Gorka, and Christine Lavin).

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