It's Never Too Late to Mend: Life Inside the Old Joliet Prison

Established as the Illinois State Penitentiary in 1858, the Old Joliet Prison has called itself home to dozens of history’s most infamous inmates. Step back into history and bump shoulders with Nathan Leopold & Richard Loeb, John Wayne Gacy, Babyface Nelson, and James Earl Ray. Learn about the prison’s construction, the Haymarket Anarchists and the story of Fainting Bertha. Author & educator Amy Kinzer-Steidinger shares the shocking stories and dramatic incidents that have given the Old Joliet Prison its sinister reputation.

Amy Kinzer Steidinger is a genealogist and historian who loves stories. She's been an educator in public and private school programs for thirty years. She has written two books on the history of the Joliet Prison "Old Joliet Prison: When Convicts Wore Stripes" & "Joliet Prison Blues: A Century of Stories"