New Chicago conference aims at making it easier for companies to hire people with criminal records

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — An upcoming conference here in Chicago will try to help companies do a better job hiring people with criminal records or time behind bars.

The numbers show that more companies are hiring people with criminal records. Professor Shawn Bushway, an expert with the State University of New York at Albany says, in some ways, they have little choice.

An upcoming conference in Chicago with Corporate Coalition of Chicago will be the first of its kind to deal with Fair Chance Hiring, a program to hire people with criminal records.

The conference in Chicago  will be the first of its kind to deal with Fair Chance Hiring, a program for hiring people with criminal records.  Dr. Matt Primack, President of Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, says they do it all the time.

“Advocate Health – which is our enterprise company name, 68 hospitals around the country – have been at this now for several years. We feel very strongly that this is not only an essential part of our workforce but also a commitment that we can make to our community.”

Professor Shawn Bushway, an expert with the State University of New York at Albany says they highlight best practices. Like, don't stress about the type of crime a potential employee committed. It won't tell you much about whether they'll re-offend.

“Type of crime doesn't predict much. There are three things that predict whether you're gonna be an active, still an active criminal in terms of your criminal history record. It's how many crimes have you committed at what your current age is, and the time since your last crime.”

Fair Chance Hiring is the subject of the ''At Issue'' program this weekend, and you can hear more Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.

The 2024 National Fair Chance Hiring Conference takes place on Oct. 7-8.

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