During the late 1980s and 1990s, Illinois’ youth prisons began filling up rapidly. The tough-on-crime approach that began in the 1960s was at the peak of popularity, and state law reflected it in mandatory minimum sentences and other provisions. From 1985 to 2000, the state’s population of incarcerated youth more than doubled, from 1,534 to […]
justice
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Juvenile Justice shows progress
When the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice was created in 2006, the state’s youth prisons held 1,500 juvenile offenders. Today, there are fewer than 900 kids behind bars in Illinois juvenile justice system. It’s one sign of progress for the relatively new department, which was previously part of the adult-oriented Illinois Department of Corrections. The […]
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‘We must do better for our young people’
Illinois’ system of warehousing juvenile delinquents doesn’t work, according to a state-appointed reform group calling for sweeping changes in how youth offenders are handled. The Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, a state advisory group mandated by federal law, revealed Dec. 13 a damning report on the failures of Illinois’ juvenile justice system. More than half of […]
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Overcrowded Illinois prisons could be next
A U.S. Supreme Court opinion ordering the State of California to reduce its prison population should serve as a warning to Illinois lawmakers, says an Illinois prison watchdog group. In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court held in late May that California’s overcrowded prisons violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, so […]
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Guards allegedly beat inmate in Sangamon Juvenile Center
The parents of a juvenile delinquent allegedly beaten by guards in a Sangamon County youth jail are taking their case to court, but official records of the incident remain out of public reach. On July 6, 16-year-old Dalton McDermott of Springfield was allegedly beaten by two guards while an inmate at the Sangamon Juvenile Center, […]
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Shakeup in juvenile justice
Three weeks after the director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice announced his resignation, two different studies are calling for major changes in the troubled agency’s operations. Kurt Friedenauer announced his resignation as IDJJ director on July 14, having served in that position since the department’s creation in 2006. Friedenauer oversaw IDJJ’s slow separation […]
