• Donate
  • Subscribe
    • Projects
      • Exploited Elders
      • Judicial Elections
      • Aging in the Shadows
      • The Circuit
      • A Closer Look at Chicago’s FOP
      • Alabama Prison Crisis
      • In Plain View
      • Collateral Consequences
      • Unrequited Innocence
      • The Long Wait
      • Less than Life
      • Unequal Treatment
      • Bad Judgment
      • Trading Away Justice
    • News
      • The Courts
      • Police and Prosecutors
      • Prisons and Jails
      • Judicial Elections
      • Judicial Conduct
      • Immigration
      • Housing
    • Perspectives
      • #SpreadTheWord Poetry
      • ‘Essential Work’ Series
    • Judicial Election Guide
    • Español
    • About
      • Our Mission
      • Board
      • Staff
      • Supporters
      • Policies
      • Jobs
      • Contact
    • Subscribe
    Subscribe

    Juvenile Justice

    Stories about the juvenile justice system, juvenile detention, and people prosecuted as adults for crimes they committed as juveniles.

    Illustration of three locked juvenile detention cell doors. Through the narrow window you can see silhouettes of children sitting alone in their cells.

    Most juvenile detention centers in Illinois are failing to meet state standards

    By Kelly Garcia and Missy Scavongelli | November 9, 2023

    Audit reports show juvenile detention centers across the state are overusing room confinement and providing insufficient mental health services to youths in custody, among other issues.

    Conozca sus derechos: qué hacer si es un estudiante que enfrenta una disciplina escolar

    ‘Contratos de Pandillas’ en escuelas de Cicero y Berwyn causan preocupación sobre la criminalización juvenil

    ‘Gang contracts’ in Cicero and Berwyn schools raise concerns about criminalization of youth

    Illinois bill would expand civics and voter education to incarcerated youths in state custody

    Juvenile Justice

    Cook County’s former top public defender ‘misused confidential information,’ report says

    By Dan Hinkel and Kelly Garcia | July 17, 2023

    The Cook County inspector general accused former public defender Amy Campanelli of inappropriately sharing data on her office’s youth clients to benefit a nonprofit organization where she later took a job.

    Juvenile Justice
    Illustration of a youth sitting on the ground up against a wall with his head in his hands, as a guard at the Cook County juvenile jail looks on.

    Teens at Cook County juvenile jail face excessive force, extreme isolation, and other civil rights abuses, watchdog finds

    By Carlos Ballesteros and Kelly Garcia | March 17, 2023

    Interviews, site visits, and records reviewed by a legal advocacy group reveal abusive behavior by staff against mostly Black teens with learning disabilities, according to a new report. Jail officials deny the claims.

    News
    A small bed in a darkly lit detention center room with brick walls and a single sink-toilet. There's a mural on the back wall with a bird and the words

    Cook County juvenile jail using ‘semantics’ to hide many hours youths are isolated: report

    By Jonah Newman and Carlos Ballesteros | August 23, 2022

    Most youths at the jail ‘are locked in their cells for most of the day, every day,’ possibly resulting in long-term damage to their mental health, according to a committee convened last year by Chief Judge Tim Evans.

    News
    In the middle is a gray concrete building. The middle of the building is black framed windows from the door entrance to the ceiling. The entrance has a black awning above with the white words “J. Sterling Morton High School District.” An american flag is posted to the right of the building. Small trees are in the foreground. In the background is a bright, clear blue sky.

    Morton students and alumni speak out against ‘gang contracts’ at school board meeting

    By Irene Romulo (Cicero Independiente) | June 17, 2021

    At least one school board member in west suburban Cicero said she would encourage the superintendent to end the controversial use of ‘gang contracts’ in response to our recent investigation.

    Know your rights

    Know your rights: What to do if you’re a student facing school discipline

    By Rita Oceguera | June 2, 2021

    A Chicago civil rights attorney offers advice for students facing school discipline and their parents.

    • Page 1 of 3
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3

    Have a Tip?

    Email us at [email protected] or call us at (312) 521-0977.

    Our Mission

    Injustice Watch is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism organization that conducts in-depth research exposing institutional failures that obstruct justice and equality.

    Subscribe

    Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get our public service journalism emailed directly to you.

    © Copyright 2023, Injustice Watch

    Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

    Back to top ↑