Juvenile Temporary Detention Center Conditions Comply with Federal Lawsuit
U.S. District Judge John Holderman recently ruled that the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC), 1100 S. Hamilton Ave., has compiled with the rulings of a federal lawsuit filed against it by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois (ACLU) to improve its operations and conditions there. The ACLU first filed the lawsuit in the case of Jimmy Doe v. Cook County in 1999.
The Juvenile Temporary Detention Center provides temporary secure housing for youth age 10 through 16 awaiting adjudication of their cases by the Juvenile Division of the Cook County Courts according to Cook County’s website. Additionally, the JTDC provides care for youth who have been transferred from Juvenile Court jurisdiction to Criminal Court. These youth would otherwise be incarcerated in the county jail.
The ACLU of Illinois (ACLU), and its affiliated Roger Baldwin Foundation (RBF), are non-partisan, non-profit organizations dedicated to protecting the liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, the state Constitution, and state/federal human rights laws through litigating, lobbying and educating the public on a broad array of civil liberties issues.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle stated that the former condition of the JTDC was “unconscionable” and the facility’s management system was “sorely lacking”.
“With these improvements, those youth who are assigned to the JTDC will be able to live, learn and receive the supports they need in more appropriate settings, and the technology for better management control of the facility is vastly improved,” said Preckwinkle.
JTDC visitors will now have access to private medical and mental health consultations in every housing unit as well as improvements geared toward suicide prevention according to Preckwinkle. Other improvements include the installation of a secure video system, youth wellness checks, a tracking system for employee movement, implementing an electronic medical records system, etc.
“It is easy now to forget that 16 years ago when the ACLU filed suit, the children held at the JTDC were subjected to violence and filthy conditions, and they often were denied essential health and mental health care,” said Benjamin F. Wolf, ACLU of Illinois Associate Legal Director. Wolf has been the lawyer representing the children detained at the JTDC. “Although previous administrations were slow to respond to the crying need of the youth held at the facility, we have made great progress over the past few years working cooperative with County officials, led by President Preckwinkle, and under the remarkable leadership of Transitional Administrator Earl Dunlap and his staff. We must never permit the facility to backslide into disrepair and neglect.”
The ruling ends federal control of the JTDC under Transitional Administrator Earl Dunlap, appointed by the court in 2007. By agreement of the parties, Dunlap will monitor the facility for the next 90 days and the case will then be dismissed unless good cause is shown to continue.
“The challenge of reforming the JTDC has been a complex and often frustrating process,” said Dunlap. “An undertaking of this nature, even with the authority provided by the U.S. Federal Court, if it is to be successful, requires the leadership and cooperation of many stakeholders in the Cook County community. It would be irresponsible and frankly an injustice not to acknowledge the proactive efforts of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, many of the members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and specifically the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Toni Preckwinkle.”
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