PCG urges all people of faith to call your House Representatives and State Senators in Springfield to ask for their support of SENATE BILL 92, the JUVENILE JUSTICE BILL. This bill calls for the separation of the Juvenile Division from the Illinois Department of Corrections and creates the Department of Juvenile Justice.

If legislators are urged to support and push the House Speaker Michael Madigan to call the bill, it is likely that SB92 will be brought forward for a vote in the House, and concurrence in the Senate, during this veto session. To identify your elected officials, click here and enter your address.

Calls to Gov. Rod Blagojevich are also encouraged because the Governor’s "All Kids health insurance program" is expected to dominate the veto session and should not be a legislative brick on the benefits SB92 represents to kids seeking rehabilitation, who are currently being warehoused under the auspices of the Illinois Department of Corrections.

What is Senate Bill 92?

It is a bill that creates a new Department of Juvenile Justice. The mission of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice is to promote public safety, hold youth accountable for their actions, and prevent re-offending.

The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice accomplishes this mission by providing fair and equal access to a comprehensive continuum of preventive, rehabilitative, transitional, and aftercare programs and services to teach skills and competencies, strengthen pro-social behaviors and restore victims and communities.

Why is it needed?

• Youth are developmentally different from adults. They need staff specifically trained to deal with adolescents, programs specifically designed for adolescents, and treatment appropriate for adolescents.
• The current division does not work: The structure of the Illinois Department of Corrections has over time absorbed youth placement, parole, educational programs and hiring promotion systems within the adult operations of the IDOC. Separation is the only way to ensure the juvenile division retains the functions and resources necessary to fulfill its mission.

How will SB92 accomplish these goals?

• Move the current eight facilities, including those for girls to the new Department, including all personnel associated with these functions.
• Move existing personnel in juvenile School District #428, parole, aftercare, placement and training system to the new Department. Make appropriate training available to meet statutory standards.
• Juvenile Justice personnel who provide counseling, educational, vocational, or treatment services directly to juveniles must be over the age of 21 and have a college degree with a specialization in criminal justice, education, psychology, sociology, social work, or a close specialization appropriate for the needs of at-risk youth or have equivalent work experience. This will ensure that staff will be trained to deal appropriately with youth, similar to requirements for other state employees that work with youth. Existing personnel would be grandfathered in without these requirements.
• These changes do NOT affect the rights or benefits of any employees who would transfer from the Illinois Department of Corrections to the new Department of Juvenile Justice. All employee contracts, rights, and benefits are unaffected by the transfer.

For more information and a persuasive comparison between Illinois’ system for dealing with the needs of juveniles and Missouri, which has separated its adult corrections from its juvenile system go to www.chicagometropolis2020.org.