Pritzker Unveils Plan to ‘Transform’ Juvenile Justice in Illinois By Closing Large Facilities
Heather Cherone | July 31, 2020 2:18 pm
(Thomas Hawk / Flickr)
Illinois will close five large juvenile detention centers as part of a plan unveiled Friday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in an effort to “transform” the current system, which Pritzker called “too punitive and too ineffective.”
Once complete in four years, the transformed system will keep children and teens closer to home while they are detained in an effort to keep them connected to their families, schools and communities, said Pritzker, who unveiled the plan alongside Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton at New Life Community Church in Little Village.
“We cannot continue to be a country that criminalizes the children that need the most help,” Stratton said.
Children and teens will no longer be held in one of five “adult-style, prison-like facilities,” according to the plan. Instead, children and teens in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice will be sent to youth residential centers closer to their homes, officials said.
The new facilities will be “dorm-like, youth-friendly” centers designed to rehabilitate children and teens convicted of crimes, rather than to punish them, officials said.
Illinois’ current juvenile justice system serves to “exacerbate [the] trauma” experienced by children and teens involved in the criminal justice system and creates “a culture of instability and violence,” Pritzker said.
Between 2010 and 2018, 55% of those held in Department of Juvenile Justice facilities returned to state custody after being released, Pritzker said.
In addition, Pritzker said the juvenile justice system is rife with “systemic racism.” While Black children and teens make up 15% of the state’s population, they account for 70% of those detained by the Department of Juvenile Justice.
“While I wish we could undo the injustices of the past, or make whole the young lives that were harmed, what we can do is reinvent our path forward, and so we are,” Pritzker said.
Amid efforts to reduce jail populations during the pandemic, there are 97 teens and children in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice, Pritzker said, a 65% drop from January 2019.
State Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) said state officials had an obligation to act to reverse the current “failed policy” that is “downright racist.”
The “complete overhaul” of the state’s juvenile justice system will be based on the tenets of restorative justice, Pritzker said.
The plan calls for children and teens involved in the juvenile justice system to receive “wraparound support and intervention services” while increasing financial support for victim services in communities with the most violent crime, Pritzker said.
The facilities set to be vacated by the Department of Juvenile Justice will be repurposed by Illinois Department of Corrections officials “to provide additional space and prevent overcrowding in their facilities,” according to the governor’s office. No layoffs are planned, officials said.
Camille Bennett, the director of the Corrections Reform Project for the ACLU of Illinois, said she was hopeful that the plan would be a “step forward to creating a humane and rehabilitative environment for young people in [Department of Juvenile Justice] custody.”
The ACLU sued the state eight years ago on behalf of teens and children held in Department of Juvenile Justice facilities, alleging that youth faced harsh conditions in filthy jails where some were held in their cells for 22 or 23 hours per day.
Bennett said she would work with state officials to “create a system that truly seeks to recognize and develop the potential in young people committed to their care.”
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | hcherone@wttw.com
Construction Begins on Illinois Youth Center in Lincoln
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Funding supports restorative facility for youth in custody of Illinois
LINCOLN, IL – Governor J.B. Pritzker announced construction will begin on a new Illinois Youth Center for youth in secure custody of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ). The project will align with IDJJ’s new residential, community-integrated, restorative justice model. Funding is made possible by the bipartisan Rebuild Illinois Capital program, the largest capital plan in the State’s history.
"My administration’s landmark Rebuild Illinois Capital program isn’t just about roads and bridges—it’s about creating a better future for generations to come,” said Governor Pritzker. "The new Illinois Youth Center will serve our state’s most vulnerable youth—and it is exactly the kind of project we are proud to invest in. Youth in custody of the IDJJ deserve access to the spaces and resources they need to thrive in their own communities—and that’s what the Illinois Youth Center will provide."
Situated in Lincoln, the new Illinois Youth Center will be at the site of the former Lincoln Development Center (LDC). Funding supports renovations of two 4,300 square foot cottages for housing youth, with additional cottages for programming and administrative use. Additionally, a newly constructed 27,000 square foot multipurpose building will include educational, recreational, and dietary services.
"IDJJ is grateful to Governor Pritzker, Lt. Governor Stratton, and Rebuild Illinois for supporting IDJJ’s 21st Century Transformation through the restoration of the Lincoln Campus,” said Heidi Mueller, Director of Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. "This campus will be the first Illinois Youth Center designed in collaboration with IDJJ’s own young people and staff, and the first specifically designed to support trauma recovery, restorative justice and positive youth development. More importantly, the Lincoln Campus will ensure vulnerable young people from Central Illinois remain closer to their families and communities as they receive the treatment and support that they need."
The renovations include upgrading mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection systems, and providing improvements to sidewalks and roadways. The scope of work includes a new athletic field, outdoor basketball courts, and fencing. New security electronic systems, including closed circuit television cameras, will be installed on site. The upgrades will be a stark improvement to the current condition of the Lincoln Developmental Center property, which has remained vacant since 2002.
The Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB) will oversee the design and construction of the Illinois Youth Center at Lincoln in accordance with the protocol for state-appropriated projects. Construction is set to be completed by summer 2024.
"Thanks to Rebuild Illinois, the Capital Development Board will transform the LDC site that has been deteriorating for two decades into an innovative and rehabilitative campus for vulnerable youth,” said the Capital Development Board Executive Director, Jim Underwood.
More than 40% of youth committed to IDJJ are from central Illinois but are housed at youth centers in the northern and southern regions of the State. The Illinois Youth Center at Lincoln will establish the first youth center in central Illinois, allowing families and community organizations to participate more effectively in the rehabilitative process.
The Illinois Youth Center at Lincoln will provide secondary and continuing education, mental health services, medical care, therapeutic and vocational support, and substance abuse treatment through licensed providers. The facility will provide highly structured programming designed to build youth skills, strengthen families, and promote community safety and positive outcomes for youth.
"Lincoln's geographic location makes it the perfect place for this facility,” said Lincoln Mayor, Tracy Welch. "Not only will the new Illinois Youth Center better serve those committed youth from central Illinois, and their families, by having them located closer to home, but it will also stimulate the local economy by creating new jobs, attracting new community members, and generating additional revenue for the city that can be used towards things such as road repairs and improved public services.”
Governor Pritzker’s bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital plan provides essential funding to support the revitalization and improvement of Illinois roadways, state facilities, universities, bridges, and railways over a six-year period. The initiative seeks to address critical infrastructure and economic opportunity.
ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE ANNUAL REPORT 2022
Since the early 2000s, there has been a national downward trend in juvenile justice system populations. IDJJ’s population has declined similarly, with more significant decreases in recent years due to a focused statewide effort to reduce the use of secure confinement for youth, and a further decline due to COVID-19 mitigation efforts. From a peak of 2174 youth in 1999 to 145 youth in 2022, the number of youth in custody has decreased by 94%.
TRANSFORMATION
Since the announcement of the 21st Century Illinois Transformation Plan in July 2020, the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice has worked diligently to fulfill its commitment to reduce the harm of incarceration by divesting from the adult prison model, creating a restorative close-to-home model, and building a continuum of care in the community. In partnership with the Justice, Equity, and Opportunity Initiative (JEO), IDJJ utilized decades of evidence from across the country, and within its own system, to create the plan with the goal of achieving meaningful transformation, better youth outcomes, and increased community safety.
The key initiatives of the plan are to invest significantly in intervention services for justice-involved youth; increase financial support for victim services in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence; and provide wraparound support for the community.
Illinois Youth Aim To Close Down 127-Year-Old Detention Facility
BY ANDRE J. ELLINGTON ON 8/6/21 AT 11:25 PM EDT
https://www.newsweek.com/illinois-youth-aim-close-down-127-year-old-detention-facility-1617148
Check Out New PBS Interview with OJJDP Admin Liz Ryan
Administrator Ryan discusses youth justice, the pandemic, and OJJDP’s youth reentry programs.
APRIL 11, 2023
OJJDP Administrator Ryan Discusses Youth Reentry in PBS Interview
In a new video interview posted on the PBS NewsHour website, OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan discusses challenges faced by youth involved in the justice system and highlights OJJDP’s work to provide these youth and their families with support.
Ryan discusses OJJDP’s Second Chance Act programs, which help youth successfully transition out of the justice system and back into their communities. The Administrator emphasizes the Office’s focus on providing system-involved youth with employment skills and other resources while in confinement to support their successful reentry.
Every April, OJJDP observes Second Chance Month in support of youth's successful reentry.
Watch Now!
RESOURCES:
Access OJJDP's Second Chance Month Tool Kit.
View and download OJJDP's guide to juvenile reentry.
View OJJDP's Juvenile Reentry Programs I-Guide.
Listen to New Audiobooks to Help Young Survivors of Human Trafficking
New Audiobooks to Help Young Survivors of Human Trafficking
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is pleased to release a set of audiobooks from the Child Victims and Witnesses Support Materials series for young survivors of human trafficking.
Originally released as graphic novels in January 2022, these three audiobooks were created by national experts and young trafficking survivors—who also served as the voice actors—to support youth who are victims or witnesses in cases of human trafficking.
Jamie's Story follows a young individual who identifies as nonbinary and serves as a victim witness in a sex trafficking case.
Sergio's Story describes the experience of a young boy who was a victim of labor trafficking and is part of a federal case.
Zoe's Story shares the experiences of a young girl who was sex trafficked and presents in court as a defendant.
Listen to the Audiobooks
2020–2021 datasets now available from the Federal Justice Statistics Program
The Bureau of Justice Statistics has released 35 datasets from the Federal Justice Statistics Program (FJSP) for 2020 and 2021 through the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. The FJSP covers seven stages of federal criminal case processing:
Arrest refers to the arrest of a suspect by a federal law enforcement agency.
Prosecution refers to the investigation of criminal matters.
Pretrial release includes the release and detention of defendants before adjudication.
Adjudication covers the criminal court proceedings through case disposition.
Sentencing covers sentences imposed on convicted defendants.
Appeals covers cases filed and terminated on appeal.
Corrections includes offenders under supervision (i.e., probation, supervised release, or parole) and offenders in prison.
The program receives source data from the U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, U.S. Sentencing Commission, and Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Access the Datasets
The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating reliable statistics on crime and criminal justice in the United States. Alexis R. Piquero, PhD, is the director.
For more information on BJS's publications, data collections, data analysis tools, and funding opportunities, visit bjs.ojp.gov.