Dear Neighbors,
Tuesday, I held the first oversight hearing in the history of the city council held as the result of a report from the Inspector General (IG) as chair of the City Council Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight.
The subject was Chicago's Juvenile Intervention and Support Center (JISC) which was created with the intent of providing services to at risk youth to keep them out of the criminal justice system.
Unfortunately, as the IG concluded, "(T)he JISC program partners cannot reliably assess the case management program's effect on youth recidivism due to poor record keeping and communication."
The hearing was a first step towards creating a new intervention program that will have a real impact in reducing juvenile crime.
For the first time, we have been able to use the IG’s findings to actively monitor whether a city program is effective.
Read about the IG's report here
.
I've been concerned about juvenile justice
for years
, and the Inspector General's report confirmed my conclusion that the current the system neither supports those juveniles who commit minor offenses nor provides consequences for those who commit gun offenses.
I intend to call for a further hearing to monitor progress on the City's changes to the program.
The inspector General is also asking Chicago residents to participate in a survey regarding city programs and how you think they can be improved.
Take the survey here
.
