Justice Summer Update: Issues That Deserve Our Attention

From the Desk of John McLees:

As we have been enjoying the summer, issues pertaining to the operation of the criminal justice system have continued to develop in ways that deserve our attention:

• Kim Foxx Two recent reports highlight her accomplishments as Cook County State’s Attorney:
  • A report issued by the People’s Lobby and Chicago Appleseed (https://www.thepeopleslobbyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019-07-Final-Report-Kim-Foxx-ForPrint.pdf) notes the reduction in the crime rate in Cook County since she took office in 2016, even as there has been a significant reduction in incarceration resulting from prosecutions in the County under her leadership.
  • An overview on the operation of State’s Attorney’s Office over the past three years that her office released earlier this week (https://www.cookcountystatesattorney.org/sites/default/files/files/documents/sao_report.pdf), highlights both the redirection of resources that State’s Attorney Foxx has overseen in her office, to focus on prosecutions for violent crimes, and her regular release of data about criminal prosecutions in Cook County, which has made her office one of the most transparent in the country.

 

• Pretrial Detention
  • Cash Bail – Efforts are ramping up across the state to support legislation outlawing or limiting the use of cash bail (see https://endmoneybond.org/illinois-network-for-pretrial-justice/)
  • Pretrial release of those accused of unlawful possession of a firearm – Meanwhile controversy has erupted over the methods used by the Cook County courts to decide whether to grant or deny release pending trial for someone who is accused of unlawful possession of a firearm but who has not been convicted and is not accused of violent use of a firearm:
    • Mayor Lightfoot rejected the argument voiced by Cook County Board President Preckwinkle, in a letter to the Mayor, that Police Chief Johnson is promoting a dangerous false narrative in arguing that release pending trial of individuals who are accused of unlawful possession of a firearm, but who are not accused of violent use of a firearm, contributes significantly to gun violence in the city.
    • A report issued by Chief Judge Evans in May concluded that far less than one percent of those accused of a felony in Cook County and released pending the trial have then been charged with a new violent offense.
  • How pretrial detention works.
    • Here is a link to a useful primer from WBEZ about the ins and outs of pretrial detention, including the standards that the Cook County courts are using to decide who to incarcerate pending trial: WBEZ Primer on Bail and Pretrial Detention
    • Some of have criticized the Public Safety Assessment (PSA), a tool mentioned by WBEZ that is used by the Cook County courts to assess someone’s risk of committing a new crime or missing future court hearings, for overstating the risk defendants actually pose if released. https://theappeal.org/how-a-tool-to-help-judges-may-be-leading-them-astray/.

 

• Where to Put Our Resources – There is broad agreement among City, County and State officials and others that it is necessary to shift scarce resources toward investment in affected communities and toward alternatives to incarceration in order to make significant progress in reducing violent crime and to deal with offenders in ways that do not lead them to commit more crimes and create more victims.
  • Directing more resources to affected communities appears to be on the agenda of the meeting that City and County officials have scheduled in the next few weeks to discuss criminal justice issues.
  • That is also the focus of provisions in the recent legislation legalizing recreational use of marijuana in Illinois that earmark 25% of the resulting increase in tax revenue to finance programs designed to promote violence reduction, community health and rehabilitation of people leaving prison, to be concentrated in communities of color across the state, which have been most gravely harmed through drug enforcement policy in the past.
    • Here is a link to a conversation about that important initiative between Sharone Mitchell of the Illinois Justice Project and Anna Lee of the Chicago Community Trust: https://www.cct.org/2019/07/how-illinois-cannabis-laws-aim-to-reduce-violence-and-restore-communities/?fbclid=IwAR2sD1OlM5NHYUIXz0W0VgNLDu-vJGT1qbT3g-GwndZMg3u2k3Avt5pZIEU
  • Others are directing our attention to how Illinois could better allocate funds that it now devotes to corrections, as in this recent article about the possibility of saving up to $200 million per year in Illinois by releasing elderly prisoners who have served more than 20 years and whose medical care would then be covered by Medicaid, County Care or the Veterans Administration:  https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/8/12/20802680/illinois-department-of-corrections-prison-elderly-inmates-jennifer-soble-bill-ryan

 

• Re-Entry Housing – One area where more resources are sorely needed is in the creation of housing opportunities for those released from prison. An important recent report by the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Illinois Justice Project (https://www.metroplanning.org/work/project/38) highlights:
  • the critical lack of reentry housing for the 26,000 individuals released from prison in Illinois each year,
  • how that contributes to the inability of these individuals to reestablish productive lives and to the high rate of recidivism and reincarceration in Illinois, and
  • what can be done to increase the availability of reentry housing.

Watch for actions in response to this report that you can support in the coming year.

• Events to Put in Your Calendar.  The attached summary of resources and the links below provide more information about some important upcoming events to add to your calendar:
  • September 17 – Annual Luncheon of the John Howard Association: http://www.thejha.org/luncheon2019  .
  • Now through October 12:  Envisioning Justice Exhibition at SAIC’s Sullivan Galleries (official opening celebration on Saturday, August 17^th from 2-5pm). Visit the Illinois Humanities website for more information.
  • October 3 (save the day) – Third Summit on Reimagining Justice for Young Adults: Lessons from Effective Systems:  https://conta.cc/31nIGsJ

 

• Summer Reading and Regular Updates – Meanwhile:
  • don’t forget to take a look at the summer reading suggestions in the attached update, and
  • do consider subscribing to some of the regular updates that are avaialble on developments relating to the justice system, including:
    • Weekly Illinois Justice Project Updates – subcribe at https://www.iljp.org/updates
    • Weekly digest of local events and resources from Illinios Humanities – contact Elliot Heilman at [email protected] to get on the distribution list
    • Weekly Safer Foundation Newsletter – subscribe at http://www.saferfoundation.org/
    • Vera News of the Vera Institute of Justice – subscribe at https://www.vera.org/
    • Regular updates from Brennan Center for Justice – subscribe at https://www.brennancenter.org/subscribe