Cook County Is Spending $500K On New Restorative Justice Programs
By aaroncynic in News on Aug 6, 2015 5:20PM
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has announced the county will spend $500,000 on piloting restorative justice programs.
Alongside Cook County Commissioner Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia, Preckwinkle visited a peace circle in Woodlawn Wednesday hosted by Southsiders Together Organizing for Power (STOP), calling the idea a “modest investment.”
“This is, frankly, a new initiative for the county,” said Preckwinkle. “Our previous investments have been in courts and jails, and now we’re trying to figure out how to invest in community organizations that will help us reduce our jail population to keep people from coming in.”
The announcement comes on the heels of Gov. Bruce Rauner signing legislation backed by Preckwinkle aimed at keeping youth out of adult prisons.
Restorative justice, a cooperative process that gives victims the opportunity to explain to offenders how a crime has impacted their lives and reduce harm, is a way of attempting to resolve conflicts before law enforcement and courts become involved.
“This work is real, we have young people helping to mediate a street conflict going on right now,” said Darius Lightfoot, a youth organizer with the group Fearless Leading by the Youth who participated in the peace circle. “Restorative Justice Hubs invest in long term relationships to provide peace circles, mentorship, jobs and other services that people caught up in the streets need."
Garcia, whose district includes the Cook County Jail—one of the most overcrowded prisons in the nation—said that he believes in the process as well,
according to DNAInfo.
“It’s one of the tools that we must convert into a movement,” said Garcia. “It’s about restoring what has been torn, what has been harmed, our community fabric.”
Organizations have until Aug. 18 to apply for funding.