
Its Time for Non-Violent Misdemeanor Prison Reform
Support Bill Senate Bill 552 and House Bill 3717 to remove bails on select nonviolent misdemeanor offenses by contacting your local state reps and senators.
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Chicago Tribune: Businessman Willie Wilson to spend $15K bailing out Cook County inmates
Call him "Wilson the liberator."
Erstwhile mayoral candidate Willie Wilson — who also took a quixotic run at the Democratic presidential nomination earlier this year — says he's going to Cook County Jail on Thursday with $15,000 in his pocket to bail out as many misdemeanor inmates as he can.
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Wall Street Journal: He Swept Floors and Later Mopped Up in the Gospel Biz
Long ago, Willie L. Wilson ran off from a Florida work camp, convinced it was virtual slavery. Hounds chased him but he got away.
Later, though he had no money, and only an eighth-grade education, he convinced himself he could run his own business. No matter that his career began as a floor-mopper in a fast-food restaurant. Like his belief in God, there are some things he just knows to be true.
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ABC 7: Willie Wilson Bails out 6 Cook County Inmates, Explains Why
A Chicago businessman explains why he spent his own money to bail strangers out of the Cook County Jail.
Former mayoral candidate Dr. Willie Wilson paid bail for six inmates Thursday. They were locked up for misdemeanor offenses but they didn't have a few hundred dollars to make bail.

Chicago Defender: Willie Wilson Raising $100,000 to Bail Out Inmates on Thanksgiving
Willie Wilson is giving Cook County Jail inmates something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day.
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NBC Chicago: Former Mayoral Candidate's 'Bond Payment Project' Secures Freedom for 6 Inmates
Six inmates gained their freedom today because of a man who not long ago ran for mayor of Chicago and president of the United States.
“This is not a black thing, it’s a human thing,” said former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson Thursday.
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Chicago Tribune: Willie Wilson bails out inmates charged with misdemeanors in bid for reform
Montelle Mohead, 28, was one of six people bailed out of jail Thursday by former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson as part of his Good Samaritan Bond Pilot Project.
Taking photos with clergy, politicians and Wilson near the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Mohead grinned and exclaimed: "I feel like a celebrity!"
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WBEZ: Willie Wilson Pledges $15,000 To Post Bail For County Inmates
Former U.S. presidential and Chicago mayoral candidate Willie Wilson announced he will spend $15,000 to post bail for Cook County Jail inmates.
On Thursday, Wilson paid $2,850 for the release of six inmates facing misdemeanor charges, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
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