Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Lawmakers Consider Raising Age Limit for IL Juvenile Justice

By Sam Dunklau • Mar 7, 2018

If you’re under 21 and have been convicted of a crime, you might wind up serving time in the juvenile justice system instead of an adult jail. Illinois state lawmakers are considering a measure that would raise the system's age limit from 18 to no more than 20.

Advocates Push To End The Incarceration Of Young People In Large Facilities

By Daisy Contreras • Jan 8, 2018

Advocates across Illinois are calling on the state to change the way it handles young people who’ve committed serious crimes. They want to end the use of large prison facilities.

Illinois Issues: Should 10-Year-Old Kids Be Kept In Juvenile Detention?

By Daisy Contreras • May 25, 2017

Some reformers say Illinois' minimum age for juvenile detention needs to go up.

Doing Right By The Kids

By Caitlin Rydinsky • Dec 1, 2014

This story first appeared in the June 2014 issue.

Special monitoring visits to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice recently found youth detainees mowing lawns and building shelves rather than attending educational courses. Monitors discovered youth being given medication with inadequate consent and living in rooms that were improperly maintained. Facilities were found to lack the proper staff to treat juvenile offenders with mental illnesses.

Doing Right by the Kids: An Agreement Seeks to Improve Conditions, Care of Youth in Custody

By Caitlin Rydinsky • Jun 1, 2014

Meeting — Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice

Special monitoring visits to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice recently found youth detainees mowing lawns and building shelves rather than attending educational courses. Monitors discovered youth being given medication with inadequate consent and living in rooms that were improperly maintained. Facilities were found to lack the proper staff to treat juvenile offenders with mental illnesses.

State of the State: Juvenile Justice System in Illinois Still Struggling

By Jamey Dunn • Dec 1, 2013

When the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice split from the state’s Department of Corrections in 2006, it moved forward with a distinct mission: recognize that youth offenders have different needs than adults and address those needs with the goal of helping them turn their lives around.