(The Center Square) – Juvenile Justice Initiative Founder Elizabeth Clarke says minimum detainment age legislation in Illinois could prove to be a critical early step in the fight to steer more minors on the right course. But the bill remains in committee.
Billing it as a measure that gives young people a fairer chance by working to prevent early criminalization, the Illinois House advanced Senate Bill 2418 by a 73-41 vote before legislators adjourned spring session. The Senate didn’t take the bill up on concurrence, and it remains in a Senate committee.
“My organization has been working for this since 2009,” Clarke told The Center Square. “We feel strongly that the research shows that young children are harmed by being in detention and that they are more likely to repeat offend. I think it’s especially at such a young age profoundly traumatic to be really stigmatized, be labeled as someone so dangerous you have to be put in prison.”
Sponsored by state Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, SB 2418 would gradually phase in with detention for 10 and 11 year olds ceasing on July 1, 2026, and the change for 12 year olds commencing a year later. The measure would not extend to such violent crimes as murder, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated vehicular hijacking.
With data showing only three of the state’s 14 juvenile detention centers have managed to consistently meet minimum safety standards over the last several years, with at least two of them being sued in class action filings over conditions, Clarke argues the time to act is now.
“In Illinois we’ve been having a crisis in detention,” she said. “Everybody agrees young children should not be detained. All children are hurt by being placed in detention, but especially young children. People who run the detention centers talk about the children just crying all night. It’s very traumatic. The other thing is it interrupts their education; it interrupts their relationships with their families and then it’s harder to get back in.”
SB 2814 also calls for the creation of a Child First Reform Task Force to review and study the current state of all facilities and operations, including the Illinois Department of Justice establishing employment opportunities, educational resources and parental mentorship training for those in need.
The legislature is scheduled to return to the Illinois State Capitol in October.
