Criminal Justice Interest Group

Topics of Focus

• Overcrowding in the Cook County Jail
• Equal Justice within the system
• Mental Health Issues within the Criminal Justice System
• Diversion Programs
• Pretrial Screening and Assessment
  
• Bond Courts

Activities

Meetings are held monthly to discuss the information that has been gathered by interviewing the stakeholders within the system.

Letter to Editor sent to Tribune on April 1, 2016 

Dear Editor,
     Thank you for your recent front page stories, “De-Escalation Holds Promise for Chicago” 3/27/16) and “Chicago Off to Deadliest Start in Nearly 2 Decades” (3/31/16). The first one was a much needed in-depth look at what police officers need to consider before using force. The second one details just how much Chicago’s crime rate is rising and how police are making fewer stops due to the extensive public scrutiny of their actions. The League of Women Voters of Cook County has studied the problems within the criminal justice system of our county. In our recently released report entitled “Pre-Trial Systems”, we strongly advocated more training for police officers in order to de-escalate potentially explosive situations at the scene. In addition to training in the use of force, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training emphasizes how best to deal with mentally ill arrestees, a component that is strongly needed. CIT has been used for several years and has only been curtailed recently due to budget cuts in Illinois. We strongly urge its restoration and expansion throughout Illinois.
     The Cook County Board recently announced the building of a triage center on the South Side. This will provide police officers with a place other than jail to take mentally ill arrestees. That in turn will certainly help reduce the extent to which Cook County Jail is the county’s de facto mental hospital.
     Your articles and our report highlight the need for reforms in the criminal justice system in Cook County. Thank you for addressing this important issue twice in the same week on your front page.

Sincerely,
     Diane Edmundson
     290 Boardwalk Place
     Park Ridge, Illinois 60068
     610-216-4328

 and Karin Hribar
            906 E. Crabtree Drive
            Arlington Heights, Illinois 60040
            847-902-7700
Co-Presidents Of the League of Women Voters of Cook County

League Recommendations to Improve Pretrial Services in Cook County

1. Discontinue the Use of Cash Bail
2. Make Thoughtful Use of Personal Recognizance I-Bonds and Electronic Monitoring
3. Improve Collaboration Among Stakeholders to Expand the Availability of Alternatives to Jail
4. Improve Communication among Bond Court Judges
5. Complete the Integrated Information System
6. Evaluate the Results of All Diversion Programs
7. Confirm the Validity of the Pretrial Public Safety Assessment
8. Improve the System of Drug Testing to Reduce Unnecessary Incarceration
9. Create More Locations for Bond Court
10. Evaluate the Value of Specialty Courts
11. Continue to Mandate Stakeholder Collaboration

See the Pretrial Systems Report for explanations and more

Fast Facts
that Every Voter Should Know
on Cook County
Criminal Justice

1. Cook County spends over $1 Billion annually on public safety, which includes the Sheriff's Office, the courts, and the jail.
2. Nearly 2/3 of Cook County employees work in a sector of the public safety system.
3. The daily jail population has been reduced in recent years, and now averages over 8000 inmates.
   
4. The County spends about $145 per day to house each jail inmate.

Publications & Additional Resources

PRETRIAL SYSTEMS: REPORT OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE INTEREST GROUP, December 16, 2015.

• The result of 18 months of study including 20 interviews with stakeholders and visits to Cook County Jail, Central Bond Court, and 4 suburban bond courts
• Presents ways to reduce the jail population without diminishing public safety
• Recommendations intend to decrease the county's costs while increasing fairness in the system

The League thanks all who were interviewed for this study for their time and input.

President Preckwinkle Outlines Criminal Justice Legislative Agenda on March 8

Learn More

Please contact Jan Goldberg