NLU Alumni Magazine positive momentum and make connections. And it was while volunteering at St. Leonard’s Ministries teaching GED classes that he saw an ad for a rail-car servicer apprenticeship program with the Chicago Transit Authority. The nine-month apprenticeship gave ex-offenders a second chance, joining the crews that clean CTA trains. Alphonso was interviewed and then accepted into the program. Recognizing it as a special opportunity, he committed himself to showing up and working hard on the evening shift. After just six months, Alphonso said he helped develop a better method for chemically cleaning graffiti from the trains, a time- and moneysaving process now being implemented throughout the CTA. This accomplishment gained Alphonso some acclaim, and in December he was asked by CTA leaders to help advocate for the ex-offender program by attending a press conference and telling his story. Ultimately the rail-car apprenticeship ended on the first of the year due to a conflict between the CTA and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 over worker pay. But happily, the 65 current apprentices have since been moved into a similar bus cleaning program to save their jobs. Alphonso became a full-time CTA employee at the end of December 2013 and avoided this transition. And he’s now finding he’s in demand. Recently he accepted an achievement award from Illinois Department of Corrections officials and state Rep. Camille
Photo by Ted Cox - DNAinfo
Alphonso Johnson spoke during a press conference advocating for the CTA’s exoffender program. The conference was attended by U.S. Rep. Danny Davis and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, both proponents of the program.
Lilly. He’s been asked to speak to young people coming out of minimum security prisons. And he’s set to receive an award from the West Side Health Authority. The attention can be overwhelming, Alphonso said, but he’s staying humble and grounded. He said his life is now full of the priceless things he could never have chasing a criminal lifestyle — a sense of pride and of peace. He’s part of a team that helps keep the city moving, and he no longer has to look over his shoulder in fear of the police or danger from the streets. His wife and his mother couldn’t be prouder, he said. It’s all a validation of that moment he experienced in prison and what he’s done since. “I can’t make up the time I’ve lost,” he said. “I can only step up and take advantage of the time I have now to become a
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more responsible and positive, productive member of society”. At NLU, Alphonso continues to pursue his studies, finding support from faculty and staff. He’s since changed his major to business administration and wants to start a community support program that will help at-risk young people find a path away from crime and violence. He hopes to get corporate investment to provide real economic alternatives for youth by offering jobs and encouraging education, whether it’s college or trade school. And he’ll continue to tell his story. He said it’s the least he can do for the second chance he’s been given. “Any time, any place, anywhere that I’m able to share my story to inspire someone else, I’m there,” he said “Because that’s another form of restorative justice to me.”