Since early 2012, Champaign County law enforcement has been arguing for expanding the satellite jail. Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice (CUCPJ) spearheaded opposition to this plan and advocated for community-based alternatives through its “No More Jails” campaign. In December 2013, the Champaign County Board voted against funding the proposed expansion and allocated a small sum of money to a re-entry program.

In February 2015, however, a new master plan was presented to the county board for the construction of a more extensive addition to the satellite jail. This plan will cost the county residents $32 million. Expanding the work of No More Jails, Build Programs Not Jails (BPNJ) has been working in opposition to this project. The group members have instead been advocating for our county to devote our resources to decrease incarceration.

We have been campaigning against this new building proposal by speaking at county board meetings, holding public forums, lobbying county board members, conducing door-to-door surveys, forming petitions, and reaching people through social media.