Gov. Rauner Signs Reforms To Keep More Kids Out Of Prison
By aaroncynic in News on Aug 5, 2015 9:27PM
Photo credit: aaroncynic/Chicagoist
The bills, championed and lobbied for by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, put some restrictions on the automatic transfer of juveniles to adult court, prohibit youth from being sent to juvenile misdemeanor offenses, limit a juvenile’s time on parole after release, and require administrators to seek community based alternatives before accepting youth ages 10 to 12 into juvenile detention.
“For most juvenile offenders, especially those who have committed non-violent crimes, we see better outcomes and lower rates of recidivism when they are able to live in the community and attend school, rather than being detained in a facility far from home,” said State Senator Kwame Roul, one of the sponsors of the legislation, in a press release. According to The Chicago Tribune, HB3718 will eliminate the automatic transfer of 15-year-olds to adult court, no matter what the crime. As for 16 and 17-year-olds, only charges of murder, sexual assault and aggravated battery with a firearm will trigger an automatic transfer.
According to the Juvenile Justice Initiative, which helped spearhead some of the legislation, prior to HB3718, a child could be automatically transferred to adult court without appearing before a juvenile court judge or any kind of individual review of their case. Instead, they were automatically transferred to an adult court based on age and charge.
“This is a great step in restoring judicial discretion and eliminating ‘one-size-fits-all’ policies in our justice system,” said Preckwinkle. “After submitting to the misguided pressures of tough on crime, Illinois is once again establishing itself as the leader in juvenile justice.”
The State Journal-Register reports that in addition to these reforms, the legislative package also prohibits juveniles from being detained in county jails if the act they committed would have been legal for an adult. It also includes data-tracking by all counties in the hope of addressing racial disparities of juvenile offenders transferred to adult court. The latest statistics from the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice show nearly 70 percent of juvenile inmates are African-American. Statistics provided by JJI show that between 2010 and 2014, of the 580 children transferred to adult court in Cook County, only 4 were white. Of the children transferred between 2010 and 2012, “half of those convicted were either recharged or found guilty of lesser offenses that would not have triggered adult court.”
“Automatic transfers were the most extreme example of disproportionate impact,” said Preckwinkle. “It is promising to see that we there is consensus to reverse some of the laws that have such a dramatic impact on communities of color.”