Inmates At DuPage County Jail Read Bedtime Stories To Their Kids

WHEATON, IL — Of all the rights lost while behind jail bars, losing touch with one's children can be among the most devastating for inmates. The memories of an outing at the playground, trip to the carnival or the nightly bedtime stories can't be replaced.

A program at the DuPage County Jail, however, allows one type of bond between parent and child to remain in some form.

About 50 people incarcerated at the jail in Wheaton are recorded regularly reading children's books, and words of encouragement, to their little loved ones back home, Fox 32 Chicago reported during a recent segment.

Gerardo Luna, serving a 1½-year sentence for aggravated battery with a firearm, told Fox he has not yet been able to meet his son — born in April last year — due to visitation restrictions as a result of the coronavirus.

But the jail's bedtime stories program allows them to connect virtually.

"I get to read a book, and he gets to be able to hear my voice," Luna said.

Another family member said having the ability to hear Luna's voice on the recordings is "amazing."

Inmates are allowed to pick out a book donated to the jail by the west suburban-based SCARCE reuse center. They are then recorded reading it, along with a personal message, and the recordings are sent to their family. The children also get to keep the books, according to the Fox report.

"I love you guys so much. I miss you guys. I hope you guys receive this book soon," Luna said during his recording.

Luna's young niece, Neveah, has found inspiration from hearing her uncle read the stories.

"It's also been helping her with wanting to read more because now that her uncle is sending her books, she wants to read a little bit more because her uncle is doing it," Irma Luna, Gerardo Luna’s sister, told Fox.

For Luna, who loves his niece as if she were his own child, it's a way for him to get an important message across.

"I just hope my kids they see that daddy's still here, and daddy still loves them, and I tell them every time, daddy's just a man who made a mistake, I'm not a bad man," he said.

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