title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
REQUESTING A PUBLIC HEARING TO DISCUSS EQUIP FOR EQUALITY’S RECENT REPORT ON THE CONDITIONS INSIDE THE COOK COUNTY JUVENILE TEMPORARY DETENTION CENTER
WHEREAS, the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (“JTDC”) is the juvenile detention facility for Cook County; and
WHEREAS, the children in the JTDC are some of the most vulnerable youth in Cook County, many having experienced significant trauma and violence as part of their daily existence; and
WHEREAS, the JTDC should provide a safe, secure environment with educational programming and mental health supports for youth awaiting adjudication of their cases; and
WHEREAS, in the past year, reports on the conditions of the JTDC have been released by the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (“IDJJ”); the Blue Ribbon Committee (“BRC”); and Equip for Equality (“EFE”); and
WHEREAS, the IDJJ report noted concern with the JTDC’s room-confinement practices, which do not comply with the state of Illinois’s minimum standard that “room confinement may be used only as a temporary response to behavior that threatens the safety of youth and others”; and
WHEREAS, the BRC report concluded that the JTDC over-relies on room confinement; and
WHEREAS, the EFE report further outlined concerns in four primary categories: special education services, “behavioral modification” and discipline systems, restraint practices, and inadequate facility accessibility; and
WHEREAS, these reports also call for increased transparency and reporting mechanisms of incidents inside the JTDC; and
WHEREAS, in response to these reports, both the Office of the Chief Judge and the Office of the President convened the Implementation Committee and the Reimagining Juvenile Detention group respectively to address these concerns. In 2022, the Implementation Committee implemented the following improvements at the JTDC: limiting all room confinements to thirty minutes, moving back bedtimes by one hour, creating more programming during evening hours, and reporting of total resident population, including a breakdown of the population by age, gender, race, and whether the cases are in juvenile or criminal court; and,
WHEREAS, despite these changes, the reports raise concerns that warrant further discussion given the vulnerability of the JTDC’s residents;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners request a convening of the Audit Committee to conduct a hearing regarding these reports, the progress made by the Office of the Chief Judge, JTDC staff, the Implementation Committee, and the Reimagining Juvenile Detention group to implement positive changes at the JTDC, and their goals for future improvements; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Board requests that the hearing feature presentations of the EFE report by its authors. The Board also requests that the Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court, the Implementation Committee, JTDC staff, and subject-matter experts from the JTDC Advisory Board appear before the Committee.
end