ILLINOIS PASSES JUVENILE JUSTICE LEGISLATION

On July 17, 2003, the Governor of Illinois signed a six bill package addressing serious problems in Illinois criminal justice system. Several of them change the juvenile justice system.

The centerpiece of the juvenile justice legislation is Redeploy Illinois. Redeploy Illinois is a strategy to shift fiscal incentives to enable counties to use dollars currently spent on corrections beds to build local continuums of care for youth in the juvenile justice system. (Its intent is similar to Reclaim Ohio.)

Purposes and policies include treating juveniles in the least restrictive manner possible while maintaining safety, imposing accountability to victims and communities, providing a range of services and sanctions in each community; affirming local responsibility for services in the community and defining the role of the state and local jurisdictions in the care of youth in the justice system.

Each county or group of counties will develop plans to reduce commitments to the state to 75% of the average commitment rates for the prior three years. The only exclusion are juveniles found guilty of first degree murder. The county (or counties) will receive payment for the cost of housing the 25% in the state facilities. If the county or group of counties exceed the 75%, the county will reimburse the state for each additional commitment.

Other Juvenile Justice Legislation Passed this Year

Minors charged with murder must have custodial interrogation recorded or resulting statement is inadmissabler.

Permits holding 17 year olds delinquents in detention centers instead of jail. 17 year olds are adults in Illinois .

In addition, Illinois is moving ahead with efforts to reduce overrepresentation of minorities in the justice system by using the Burns Institute method in four communities in Illinois. The Burns approach works through a community board and a community organizer to document precise points of disproportionate contact and develop programs to reduce the juvenile justice system contacts.

In addition, two reports have recently been issued: "A Partnership to Reduce Unnecessary Detention of Illinois youth" (copies can be obtained from Rohan, Juvenile Probation and Court Services at 312/433-6575) and "Children’s Mental Health: an Urgent Priority for Illinois" (copies can be obtained by contacting Barbara Shaw and the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority, 312/814-2796).

It appears that Illinois has made positive change in the juvenile justice system a high priority.

Reported by: Donna Hamparian, President, the Juvenile Justice Coalition of Ohio

Resource material: Juvenile Justice News, Juvenile Justice Initiative, Summer, 2003

 

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