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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Illinois has a proud legacy as the home of the | ||||||
| 3 | world's first juvenile court; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Illinois has another proud legacy from its first | ||||||
| 5 | peoples -the practice of
restorative justice; in the First | ||||||
| 6 | Nation justice systems, healing and reintegration of
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| 7 | individuals is the primary goal, rather than reliance on | ||||||
| 8 | prisons and punishment; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, The principle of restorative justice was included | ||||||
| 10 | within the Purpose and
Policy Section of Article 5 of the | ||||||
| 11 | Illinois Juvenile Court Act in 1999; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, To date, there have been multiple pilots | ||||||
| 13 | throughout the State of restorative
justice practices in the | ||||||
| 14 | juvenile justice system, both as diversion from court and as
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| 15 | sentencing alternatives, however there is no uniform statewide | ||||||
| 16 | practice of restorative
justice in the juvenile justice system; | ||||||
| 17 | and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, As prison costs prove increasingly burdensome for | ||||||
| 19 | taxpayers, and as
studies reveal high repeat offending rates by | ||||||
| 20 | prisoners who have little education or
vocational skills upon | ||||||
| 21 | release, states are increasingly examining restorative justice
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| 1 | practices as effective diversion and sentencing alternatives; | ||||||
| 2 | Northern Ireland, Finland, New Zealand, and other | ||||||
| 3 | jurisdictions have successfully revamped their juvenile
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| 4 | justice systems through the system-wide implementation of | ||||||
| 5 | restorative justice practices
and these nations serve as models | ||||||
| 6 | of system reform through restorative justice
practices; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Restorative justice practices in other nations | ||||||
| 8 | have been implemented along
with full due process and human | ||||||
| 9 | rights protections for children in conflict with the law,
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| 10 | including respect for confidentiality and use of dispositions | ||||||
| 11 | that represent the least
restrictive alternative; therefore, | ||||||
| 12 | be it
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| 13 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 14 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 15 | urge the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, working in | ||||||
| 16 | partnership with the Illinois Balanced and Restorative Justice | ||||||
| 17 | Project and the Illinois Juvenile Justice Initiative, | ||||||
| 18 | community groups, and schools, review the current practice of | ||||||
| 19 | restorative justice in juvenile justice systems in the State of | ||||||
| 20 | Illinois and review restorative justice practices in juvenile | ||||||
| 21 | justice systems in other states and cultures and nations, and | ||||||
| 22 | report back to the Illinois General Assembly with | ||||||
| 23 | recommendations to expand the practice of restorative justice | ||||||
| 24 | in the juvenile justice system in Illinois with the goal of | ||||||
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| 1 | restoring public safety through restoration of the child in | ||||||
| 2 | conflict with the law, within a system that incorporates the | ||||||
| 3 | full range of due process and human rights protections, | ||||||
| 4 | maximizing community based responses and utilizing | ||||||
| 5 | incarceration only as a last resort for as short a time as | ||||||
| 6 | possible; and be it further
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| 7 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 8 | delivered to the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission.
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