“Each officer is an inner working modality - when we move in unity, transformation begins.”

Joshua Jones is a proud native of Neptune New Jersey, and a vital founding member of the Cook County Corrections Coalition (C4).

Joshua’s path into correctional work was not accidental, it was deeply aligned with his character. Motivated by a personal commitment to both community safety and rehabilitative justice, he entered the profession to ensure that those returning to society had the structure and opportunity to do so safely, while also protecting the families and neighborhoods who rely on frontline security every day.

At Cook County Jail, Joshua has served across a wide range of high-pressure environments, including:

• Division 9 (Maximum Security)

• Division 8 RTU (Residential Treatment Unit)

• Division 5

• Division 11

• External Operations posts across the facility

Through this diverse service, Joshua has gained firsthand insight into the institutional pressures, personnel hazards, and administrative failures that shape officer experiences behind the wall. But it was his own on-the-job injury and its aftermath that opened his eyes fully to the system’s neglect. After returning to duty prematurely, without warning or proper accommodation, he was re-injured in the line of duty. Despite medical documentation supporting light duty, he was reassigned to a full-tier post with no notice, jeopardizing his health and well-being. He continues to suffer from those injuries to this day.

Rather than allow those events to silence or isolate him, Joshua stepped into leadership. He joined C4 to help ensure no officer after him has to suffer in the dark, physically abandoned, procedurally violated, or institutionally disrespected.

 Why C4? Why Now?

Joshua believes that correctional officers are not just workers—they are the living systems that uphold institutional order, and when those systems are broken, it is not only the officer who suffers, but the mission itself.

“Sometimes individuals need to understand where they are currently at and why they need to elevate from, evaluate, restructure, or empower their surrounding system.”

As a board member, Joshua brings three unshakable qualities to the table: Dignity. Loyalty. Integrity.

He understands that many in this profession perform under a mask - chasing approval, promotion, or survival. But he leads from a different place: a higher moral compass not dictated by command or incentive, but by the example officers set for each other and themselves.

 Personal Mission

Joshua’s mission is both personal and structural: “To surround myself with better quality people by exhibiting and illustrating a model myself.”

He knows change doesn’t start in memos or mandates - it starts in character, conduct, and commitment. He brings that philosophy to every conversation, every grievance, and every initiative C4 undertakes.

Message to Officers

“Don’t sell the foundation and pillars of who you are just to reinforce the foundation and pillars of an entity whose exact goal is to be finished over you. There’s a difference between hustle and harlotry. Humility is your close friend and crown. But let convenience be your counsel, and you’ll find yourself reduced to just another in-hand pawn that listens to everything and everybody but self. The choice is yours.”