PONTIAC -- Ronald Holt wants his audience to know that all life is precious.

"There has to be a change in our behavior and in our mindsets," Holt said. "There needs to be a value system on your life, and it doesn't matter where you come from. You can do anything that you believe in."

Holt's son, Blair, 16, was shot and killed on a Chicago bus in 2007 as he tried to shield another student. The elder Holt was at Pontiac Correctional Center on Thursday, talking to 200-plus inmates about the motivation and information they need to re-enter society.

The summit came as Gov. Pat Quinn prepares to release about 1,000 inmates from the state's prisons as a way to save $5 million a year. An additional $2 million will be used for monitoring bracelets, assigning parole officers, drug treatment and other initiatives for the low-level, non-violent offenders.

The elder Holt urged the Pontiac prisoners to become positive role models to other young men.

"For some reason or the other we continue to lose our young men, whether it is to the grave or incarceration," he said. "I don't care about what the circumstances were ... but I know that pain and I know how some of you feel."

Saud Judeh, 33, of Chicago, expects to leave the prison next year after serving time for a parole violation. Judeh said he is determined to change and never see the inside of a cell again.

"I'm absorbing a lot right now, and I know that things need to be changed," he said. "I know that I need to be there for my loved ones and my family."

Deanne Benos, assistant director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, said the programs are important for both the inmates and to society.

"These programs are meaningful and important, as it is an issue with public safety as 95 percent of the people in the system will go back home," she said. "We want them to maintain a level of safety as they go home."

Blair Holt's killer, Michael Pace, is serving a 100-year sentence.