A Rockford mother is using her story to help others who are looking for a second chance.
Shimere Love’s photo is listed on the Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments website with a caption that reads “Team Member Highlight.”
This organization helps formerly incarcerated individuals who have a hard time moving forward in life based on their past decisions.
Love is the coalition coordinator for the organization. In 2015, Love said she made a bad choice, which landed her in prison.
“My crime was arson to a building without owner's consent,” she said. “I burned down my daughter's dad's house.”
She was 24. Her daughter was around 5 months old at the time. Love explained that she was going through post-partum depression and the prescription she was prescribed didn’t seem to work. She said her mental well-being wasn’t in a good place and her boyfriend’s infidelity didn’t make things better. Love lived in Rockford and her boyfriend lived in Beloit, Wisconsin. She said on her way back from the crime, reality set in when she saw smoke clouds.
“And I'm thinking there's a lot of industrial buildings over there,” she added. “So, I'm thinking that maybe the smoke is coming from there. And then my phone starts ringing. Everyone's calling me telling me that, ‘hey, your daughter's dad's house is on fire.’”
Love said she reconciled with her daughter’s father, and she thought things would go back to normal. She didn’t know he had turned her in. She went on with her life and accepted a job in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He didn’t join her.
In 2018, as she was leaving an event, she fell on ice and broke her neck. She had emergency surgery and was told not to drive. She continued to drive and would park in the handicap spaces. She got a ticket for doing so and when she went to court to pay, the clerk told her she had a body attachment warrant for her arrest out of Wisconsin.
“At that moment, is like I saw my life flash before my eyes and my heart just kind of sank,” she said. “And next thing I know, I don't know if it was a secret button, but officers came from some door, and they arrested me. And I didn't see the outside world again until June 16, 2020.”
She said she had to plead guilty because her ex-boyfriend told on her. She was sentenced to nine years. During the preliminary hearing she was asked if she drank alcohol before committing the crime and she said she was intoxicated. This qualified her for the Earned Release Program. This program allows an early release for those involved in substance abuse disorders to take part in treatment programs. She only served two and a half years. For her, the release was a second chance in life, but she soon realized she now had a new set of obstacles.
“Since I've been home, I have faced so many barriers, from finding housing -- a place to live,” she said, “I'm still living at home with my mother and my stepfather with my two kids. Finding a job was – oh, my goodness.”
Love received her paralegal certificate from Rockford Career College. She said she had a successful interview with an attorney, but she didn’t receive any follow-up. She later ran into the lawyer in another setting and introduced herself. She asked her what happened and was told that her background was the reason why she wasn’t considered.
She did get a job at Ulta Beauty and at a Target distribution center but needed more support, so she applied for a job at a home health care organization. She disclosed her criminal background, and she got the job. During the orientation she was asked to leave. She learned it was again because of her background. She said this was a mental gut punch. She went to her car and started crying. She said she made a video to tell the world what she was facing. In that video she said, “I made a mistake. I’m not a mistake.” This video captured the attention of Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments. They offered her a position. She said the organization is fighting to change legislation.
“More specific, Clean Slate, it's already been passed in 12 other states. And Clean Slate is a bill that will automate expungement and sealant of records for arrest and conviction,” she explained. “And we're hoping it's passed this legislative session.”
Love said although she has a steady income, she is still not able to get housing.
“I have applied for private landlords. I've applied for commercial landlords,” she added. “And each time my background comes back.”
She said until legislation is passed to help with giving formerly incarcerated individuals a second chance, the organization is going across the state offering expungement summits, which teach those individuals how to get their records cleared. A Rockford summit is scheduled to take place next month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday April 13 at Booker Washington Community Center, 524 Kent St. Others are schedule across the state.
