"This report
emphasizes that the utilization of laws that try to fit every youth into
the juvenile or adult justice systems based solely on a formula of
offense plus age, cannot meet the needs of young offenders or the
public. States and communities must collaborate in an effort to better
understand racial disparities, where they exist and implement the
necessary reforms."
Shay Bilchik, Executive Director
of The Child Welfare League of America and former Administrator of the U.S. Justice Department's Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
"This law as currently written and enforced is toxic to black children,"
Dr. Carl Bell
President and CEO
Community Mental Health
Council in Chicago.
"It is shocking that, in Cook County, Latino's are tried as adults 13
times more likely than Whites for drug crimes," says Angela Maria
Arboleda, Civil Rights Policy Analyst, National Council of La Raza.
"When Latino youth are tried as adults, too often they are denied the
opportunity to receive substance abuse treatment and job training that
would better prepare them to contribute to society."
"In our recent survey, Youth Crime in Chicago: Attitudes, Perceptions and Public Policy, 75 percent of those surveyed ranked fairness as the most important value that should guide the juvenile justice system," said Lucretia "Lu" Bailey, president of the Chicago Council on Urban Affairs, a 30-year-old public policy, civic organization. "It is quite obvious that Illinois' current automatic transfer program is out-of-step with the wishes and values of most Chicagoans."
Lu Bailey,
President
Chicago Council on Urban Affairs
"The racial disparities uncovered by this report are appalling and cry out for correction."
Paul Simon
Director
Public Policy Institute
Catholic Conference of Illinois
Statement on Racial Disparities in the Illinois Juvenile Justice System
April 25, 2001
The Catholic Conference of Illinois calls for a re-examination of laws that have resulted in an alarming number of youth, especially youth from African American and Hispanic communities, being transferred from the juvenile court to the adult court system. We raise this concern because last year in Cook County, 393 Cook County youths arrested for serious crimes automatically were transferred from juvenile court into adult court. Only three of the youths transferred were white.
Earlier this month, Francis Cardinal George, OMI, issued a Pastoral Letter on Racism, Dwell in My Love" in which he stated, "We are called not only to a radical conversion of heart, but a transformation of socially sinful structures as well." The criminal justice system was one of the structures he addressed. "The administration of justice and the institutions of our civic life must be marked by respect for all,” said the Pastoral Letter.
In our parishes, schools and Catholic Charities agencies, we see firsthand the crushing poverty and the breakdown of family life that often lead to crime. For us, crime and the destruction it brings raise fundamental questions about the nature of personal responsibility, community, sin and redemption.
Yet the answer to these questions do not lie in public policies that automatically sentence a segment of society to a criminal justice system that does not adequately address society's and an individuals desire for restorative justice. In its statement on Crime and Criminal Justice released in November 2000, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops remind us that our Catholic faith can help us and others to go beyond the current debate and gain a deeper understanding of how to reject crime, help heal its victims and pursue the common good.
We urge our elected officials to reject these current policies and pass laws that will support what we know to be effective anti-crime strategies; assisting communities in the fight against poverty, ensuring that all of our children receive an adequate education and providing essential support for families and children.
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss this matter please call Bill Purcell, Chairman of the Catholic Conference's Community Affairs Department at (312) 751-5383 or the Catholic Conference of Illinois at (217) 528-9200."
"When an automatic transfer law clearly assumes a racial complexion- as this one has- it should be repealed and if necessary, replaced by a law that vests discretion in the judge."
Dawn Clark Netsch
Former Illinois Comptroller and Illinois Legislator
Emeritus Professor, Northwestern University School of Law
