Cook County’s top judge discusses Chicago violence, proposes solutions in policy address
Cook County’s top judge discussed juvenile justice, ankle bracelets and a technique for criminal case management Thursday during a policy address at the Union League Club of Chicago.
“Despite the best efforts of men and women of goodwill all over this county, the average resident who lives here lives in fear,” Chief Judge Timothy Evans said, addressing a spike in violence last year.
Evans proposed long-term and short-term solutions to crime spikes, and announced he’s looking to implement a “differentiated case management” system in the criminal division to make the system more consistent, after working with the National Center for State Courts.
Under this system, Cook County would put felony cases on four tracks, Evans said, ranging from a six-month time frame for disposing of lesser felonies to a two-year timeline for disposing of murder cases. Deterrence of crime is more likely to come from consistency than severity of the sanction, he added, driving the need for consistent apprehensions and procedures.
The program has been in place in some felony courtrooms for a few years, but it will be expanded to the whole Criminal Division. It was not immediately clear what the consequences, if any, would be if a case fails to meet the imposed deadlines. Cook County criminal courts have often been criticized for taking longer to resolve cases compared to other jurisdictions around the country.
Evans also acknowledged the controversy surrounding people awaiting trial who are released with electronic-monitoring ankle bracelets, after Mayor Lori Lightfoot called for judges to stop the practice for certain defendants. The mayor and police leaders have blamed a “revolving door” bond system for putting some allegedly violent offenders back on the street before their trials.
Over the course of the two-hour event, the judge repeatedly emphasized the importance of due process for people who are charged with crimes but are still in the pretrial phase, since they may not ultimately be convicted.
“If society loses order, it collapses. If individuals lose their rights, society collapses,” Evans said.
No one who has been charged with murder or attempted murder has been put on electronic monitoring since October, Evans said, though he later added that this was not due to any specific policy change.
Evans also addressed the issue of juvenile repeat offenders who are not held in custody. The issue was raised in response to the charging Wednesday of a 16-year-old who was on juvenile probation at the time he allegedly fatally shot 8-year-old Melissa Ortega in the Little Village neighborhood.
The teenager, Emilio Corripio, was on intensive probation related to two carjackings and possession of a stolen vehicle when that shooting took place last weekend, according to Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy.
Evans would not propose any sort of limit for a number of “chances” for juvenile repeat offenders, as the purpose of the juvenile court is not just public safety, but rehabilitation, he said.
“We don’t give up on the kids. We continue to try to help them,” Evans said. He would rather use cognitive behavior therapy than electronic monitoring or other sanctions for young people, since their brains aren’t fully developed, he said.
Evans elicited applause from the crowd when he called for societal intervention in at-risk individuals’ lives before they are charged with a crime, with measures such as jobs, cognitive behavioral therapy or trauma-informed care.
In the long term, Evans said there needs to be reinvestment in at-risk communities, financing for witness protection and an embrace of economic equity.
