New Juvenile Center Wants to Engage with Lincoln Community ABC 20 Springfield

Lincoln, Ill. (WICS) — As screenings and construction continue to progress, the Monarch Youth Center will soon be operational in Lincoln.

The facility comes as a result of a plan put in place by Governor JB Pritzker in 2020 that focuses on reducing the harm of incarceration of youth. Robert Vickery, the acting director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice says, "At all of our locations, we really emphasize building collaborative relationships with non-profits, with faith-based groups, with higher education, like community colleges, folks that have an interest in serving our kids."

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Symposium Examines Far-Reaching Impact of Criminal Records- University of North Carolina School of Law

The University of North Carolina School of Law hosted a thought-provoking symposium, “Justice in the Age of Criminal Records,” on October 11, 2024. Organized by the North Carolina Law Review, the event brought together legal scholars and practitioners to explore how criminal records shape lives long after formal sentences end.

The symposium kicked off with a panel on juvenile justice. Professor Kristin Henning of Georgetown Law discussed how juvenile records, once thought confidential, now follow individuals into adulthood. “Even limited forays into restrictions on legislative criminalization are being pushed back,” Henning noted, pointing to recent challenges to reform efforts.

A different approach to juvenile crime starts with a new court in Peoria County- NPR Peoria

Juvenile arrests in Peoria spiked by almost 30% last year, with crimes like carjackings and attempted robberies among the most common. A broad coalition of city, county and state organizations are working on a new approach. Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria has publicly stated a majority of these crimes are committed by the same handful of adolescents. The creation of a “juvenile problem solving court” would forgo a “cookie cutter” approach to target these specific youths.

10th Judicial Circuit Judge Frank Ierulli has taken the lead on the judicial side in creating the court, which has been in development for more than a year. After a guilty plea, the accused are directed to services addressing the underlying factors of their crime, like poverty, addiction and mental health. The program will exclude some violent crimes, like murder and sexual assault.

Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center has been approved to reopen. What's the hold up? Springfield Journal Register

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The Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center could reopen once enough staff are hired to operate the facility, officials said.

Juveniles previously detained at the center at 2201 S. Dirksen Parkway were transferred elsewhere after 17-year-old Camren Darden, a detainee at the center, fired a gun several times inside the facility. He attempted to escape with a 16-year-old girl before he was shot by responding Springfield police officers on Sept. 30 of last year.

The Administrative Office of Illinois courts has approved all of the center’s measures to increase security, including the addition of a body scanner, said Kent Holsopple, who is the Director of Probation and Court Services for Sangamon County.

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ACLU files injunction to stop solitary confinement at Mary Davis Home- KWQC

A lawsuit against the Mary Davis Home in Galesburg now includes an injunction. The ACLU added the injunction, demanding the juvenile detention center end using solitary confinement at the facility unless someone poses a danger to others or themselves. The lawsuit stems from an Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice Report and interviews done by the ACLU with kids detained at the facility. Both the interviews and the IDJJ report claimed the facility was not in compliance with Illinois' End Youth Solitary Confinement Act.

Research supports vulnerable youth from juvenile detention to graduation

The journey from detention to diploma is a challenging one for students transitioning from expulsion or the juvenile justice system to the classroom.

More than 25,000 youth reside in detention facilities on any given day in the United States. About two-thirds of those youth do not successfully re-engage with school upon their release, due to the lack of effective transition supports. Similar lack of support exists for students who have been expelled from school.

Statistics show racially and ethnically minoritized youth are overrepresented in the juvenile justice population, and their school failure is a key driver of the “school-to-prison pipeline,” estimated to cost taxpayers $35 billion annually.

*Opinions and viewpoints shared in the above articles do not necessarily represent views and policies of the Illinois Dept. of Juvenile Justice.

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE

IDJJ's mission is to build youth skills and strengthen families to promote community safety and positive youth outcomes.