skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

IL Juvenile Justice Groups Press to Raise Age for Pre-trial Detention

play audio
Play

Wednesday, August 31, 2022   

Currently, children as young as 10 are held behind bars while awaiting trial in Illinois, and now, juvenile justice reform groups are calling for the minimum age to be set at 13.

Legislation to raise the age from 10 to 13, House Bill 111, passed in the House of Representatives but stalled in the state Senate this spring.

Luis Klein, executive director of the Juvenile Justice Initiative in Evanston, said children under 13 should be released to their parents while awaiting trial.

"International human rights instruments, such as the Convention of the Rights of the Child, called for an end of prosecution, let alone detention, of young children under the age of 14," Klein pointed out. "Canada ended prosecution of children under the age of 12 in 1984. And Germany has long ended prosecution of children under the age of 14."

Illinois currently has no minimum age for criminal prosecution. Children up to 18 are tried in juvenile court. Reform groups would like to allow youths under 21 charged with misdemeanors to be tried as juveniles rather than in the adult court system. A bill to adopt the change passed the House this spring, but it, too, died in the state Senate.

Opponents in the law enforcement community cited concerns about rising crime and accountability.

Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, said incarceration traumatizes young people who are already in crisis.

"Research shows that this event changes the trajectory of a child's life," Gabel stressed. "They are more likely to have poor life outcomes; recidivism, to drop out of high school, to be unemployed, and to have behavioral health problems. That's something that is unconscionable."

Nate Balis, director of the Juvenile Justice Strategy Group for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said the focus of the juvenile justice system needs to pivot from punishment to rehabilitation for youths.

"Our job is to help them pursue their hopes and dreams," Balis asserted. "As opposed to just, 'How can we stop them from doing this bad thing?' That's when the system can become more humane."

Advocates stated they would like to see both bills be reintroduced when the legislature convenes for its next regular session in January.

Disclosure: The Juvenile Justice Initiative contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice, and Youth Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …


Organizations fighting wage theft said it harms affected workers and surrounding communities because the money withheld is not being circulated through the local economy. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021