“Growing up in Iowa City I can think of a number of things that have seen very little renovation in the past two decades. My son started basketball at our local rec center last year and I stood in the same building I grew up going to and remarked to my wife that the place had hardly changed. 

“I know we’ve done little updates here and there, but as I stared at what appeared to be mold on the walls above the meager bleachers, it was hard not to be a little disappointed at the state of the building.”

“We've all been provided with a bit of a false binary in terms of our options related to the new jail. The third option is to vote no and to continue exploring other options, to hold out for something better. The third option simply indicates that building a new jail, with all the space and the Situation Room and the huge offices and the increased number of beds, for $120+ million isn't reasonable. It reflects a higher expectation of our law enforcement, our leadership, and our community.”

“We have the power to demand transparency and take a democratic approach to addressing the very real issues raised with the safety of the current facility, but Nathaniel Davis Jr. was not killed by the cracks in the walls.”

“Johnson County has not convinced me that their humanity is front and center here.”

“My work in social support services and the partner of someone in law enforcement has led me to understand that meaningful partnerships and internal policy changes are how public servants demonstrate dedication to solutions, prevention, and care for the community. Anything less demonstrates a vanity project..“

“When I think about this community, I think about care, compassion, and brilliance. We care about each other enough to not use jail as the answer. We are compassionate enough to want to heal with those who harm. We are brilliant enough to foresee how a larger jail will perpetuate the violence of disproportionately jailing people of color, poor people, and people with disabilities.”

“Diversion is not done until every person has a home, a place to receive healthcare, and a good school. We have a long way to go, and a bigger jail does not help us get there.”

“The Iowa City Human Rights Commission encourages our community to vote “No” concerning Johnson County’s proposed $94.5 million jail bond […] After reviewing available information, hearing presentations, receiving public comments, and engaging in discussion, the Commission remains concerned that the proposed referendum has not adequately addressed several significant issues.”

“I grew up in Iowa City and I’ve spent a lot of time in our community listening to people, standing alongside families, and learning from stories that too often go unheard. One thing I’ve come to understand is that human dignity is not defined by the structures we build. It is defined by the systems, policies, and standards we choose to put in place.”

“We believe Johnson County can do better than spending $124 million on expanding our jail. We believe our resources should strengthen communities, support people in crisis, and create more opportunities for people to thrive.”

“I’m voting no because I believe in community care, not community abandonment.”

“We have a civic responsibility to invest in resources that reflect our values.”

“But somehow there’s always money for prisons, jails, and cops. Johnson County is the perfect place to disrupt that trend.”

“We deserve real solutions that align with our values, not this unimaginative plan that would be acceptably at home in far more regressive communities.”

“I am a licensed social worker and a therapist. I have sat with people terrified of being taken away from their homes and their families by the carceral system. I have supported people harmed by incarcerating systems that promised safety while delivering abuse and terror. My loved ones have been imprisoned. These experiences have made it clear to me that jailing is about so much more than a building.”

“Johnson County prides itself on care, compassion, and justice for all. The proposed new jail and the bond proposal to fund it do not reflect that care. It’s true that the current jail needs renovations, but this proposal does not meaningfully improve quality of life for incarcerated individuals, who would have less space than legally required for -- and given to -- some animals. And ultimately, incarceration is not a humanitarian way of dealing with all crime. We should invest in the social drivers that prevent incarceration, rather than in downstream fixes that merely compensate for our failure to uphold human dignity.”

“I want a world where our answers to harm are specific, not generalized; restorative, not punitive; and where healing happens in community, not isolation.”

“Nathanial Davis Jr. died merely months ago in our county jail. He exhibited severe signs of alcohol withdrawal, for days, but given our current facility's medical inadequacies, he was left untreated. He wasn't a violent criminal. He was sick. He was sick and he died because he couldn't get the medical care he needed.”

“We do need to do something about the jail, but we don’t need to do this. The county needs to demonstrate commitment to keeping people out of jail. The county needs a strategic plan around diversion.

“There isn’t one. “