Criminal Justice Committee Holds Hearing On Domestic Violence

Cook County Board of Commissioners
Criminal Justice Committee
July 22, 2025

The following resolution was approved by the committee- 15 ayes and 2 absents

• 25-1695: (Miller, Anaya, Degnen, Gainer, Moore, Stamps, Britton) Call for a hearing of the Criminal Justice Committee to receive an update from the Public Safety Stakeholders on the implementation of safeguards for the protection of gender-based violence survivors and domestic relations mediators and child representation. Particularly interested in the procedures used by judges to appoint a Guardian ad Litem or the Public Guardian and the availability of court reporters for the Domestic Relations Division of the Courts. Referred to Criminal Justice on 3-13-25.
  

​There were about 60 minutes of public comments sharing current problems in the domestic violence (DV)  arena.  People involved in domestic violence, including victims and service providers,  shared issues regarding lack of transparency, services being cut off due to non-payment,  court fees and court continuances extending over several years. There is a need for training in domestic violence for judges, mediators and all stakeholders involved in DV.  A male public speaker spoke to the issue and importance for men to be listened to.  He talked about losing his weapon in a DV case and being unable to do his job. Many people talked about the harm to their children with the extended and confusing process while involved in the domestic violence courts, in addition to the financial hardship. 

There were comments regarding the recurring harm that children are exposed to in court situations.  Many cases can have an overlap with Domestic Relations court - which is the court dealing with divorces and where civil orders of protection are filed.

An identified problem deals with orders of protection and documentation that they have been served. There is no current tracking system on orders of protection.  Commissioner Degnen asked the representatives from the court how to add tracking into the technology (Tyler) which is still being worked on.  

States Attorney (SA) Eileen Burke stated that since December there have been 39 women murdered in DV cases.  She said that when she came into office, she thought gun violence would be the most pressing issue, but it is DV.  In 2024, 9% of murders were domestic violence, that figure is now 17% of murders are DV.  In order to address this crisis, SA Burke has created a Special Victims Bureau to handle domestic violence, sexual assault, hate crimes, human trafficking and crimes against children. SA office is working on a felony DV pathway.  The office needs a new case management system. Currently, case management is being done on an excel spreadsheet. SA Burke wants to work with the chief judge and PD on a data transparency system. 

SA Burke was asked what she needs and to ask for it at next week's budget meeting.  One request is for more investigators and money for increased training. The Special Victims Bureau’s goal is to attract a different kind of prosecutor and SA Burke said that it is a vertical model which means that the lawyer stays with the victim throughout the legal process. This is one way to not retraumatize the victim. Burke also mentioned the importance of state’s attorneys having access to civil court records which has already been accomplished. 

Representatives spoke from all the different stakeholders involved in DV: the courts, the Public Guardian office, Public Defender office, jail, clerk’s office.
Key points and highlights:

• Domestic Relations Court is for Divorce and family issues - this is where civil orders of protection are filed  
• Domestic Violence Court is gender based violence, sex crimes, human trafficking and crimes against children. 
• There is an interest to pursue permanent orders of protection - it seems some other states have this - this is a state legislative action that members of the board wish to pursue 
• Need to look at the issue of court fees and related service costs in order to make services more accessible.  Some expenses become so great that the victim and family are further victimized and fees cannot be discharged, even in bankruptcy.
• There is a great need for domestic violence and sexual harassment  training for all stakeholders in the domestic violence area.
• Other needs — increased training, transparency, resources, and need for decreased fees, more judges and for judges to have oversight and accountability.
• There is a statewide lack of court reporters
• New orders of protection have increased 42.7% from 2014-2021-  now 1200 new civil orders of  protection/month 
• Need for interpreters 
• In Domestic Relations Court there are 45 judges and 157 specialized attorneys representing thousands of children 
• Need updated Technology 
• There is a need to create a  DV dashboard 

Something to watch for:

• Commissioner Britton volunteered to work with Commissioner Moore, setting up a summit in order to bring together the States Attorney, public defender and other stakeholders in order to improve the connectivity, transparency and accountability in the domestic violence area.

Observer:  Laura Davis