Statement on RJCC Expansion to Sauk Village
Last month, the Circuit Court of Cook County expanded its Restorative Justice Community Court (RJCC) program into Sauk Village, a suburb just south of Chicago. The new RJCC is the first of its kind in Chicago’s suburbs, joining a line-up of Chicago-based RJCCs in North Lawndale, Avondale, and Englewood. Chief Judge Timothy Evans hopes to open three more next year.
These courts are rooted in restorative justice, a framework that centers the needs of the victim, the people who caused harm, and their community—a humanist departure from the punitive traditions of the criminal justice system. Although Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts recognizes the tremendous benefits of this model for those impacted by the carceral system, we urged the Circuit Court of Cook County in April, and echo the recommendation now, to pause further development until the considerable drawbacks of the existing RJCCs are resolved.
Our April report analyzes the RJCCs’ impact and benefits in their respective communities using data from interviews with stakeholders, court-watching observations, and data from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and Office of the Chief Judge (OCJ). We explored if and how the RJCCs’ practices align with or depart from general restorative justice best practices.
Our core recommendation that the OCJ pause further development is rooted in several key findings from our study, the first being that the courts lack community oversight and involvement.
Without community oversight, the RJCCs risk placing court actors like judges and court coordinators opinions about what is best for participants over those of the community.
Although Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts recognizes the tremendous benefits of this model for those impacted by the carceral system, we urged the Circuit Court of Cook County in April, and echo the recommendation now, to pause further development until the considerable drawbacks of the existing RJCCs are resolved.
Importantly, only 7% of cases that went through an RJCC had an identifiable victim. This outcome does not align with the stated goal of the RJCCs to “end the harmful cycle of revenge and recidivism.” As they stand now, the RJCCs are only accessible to young adults charged with nonviolent felonies or misdemeanors. We noted that to fully facilitate its stated goal, the RJCC program should expand access to people accused of crimes deemed “violent.” Limiting the RJCC model to participants who have largely been accused of crimes without an identifiable victim is a missed opportunity given the restorative justice framework’s capabilities to address harm done to another person or people.
Other cited concerns involved the lack of transparency of the courts, and onerous requirements some RJCCs place on participants and disruption to their personal lives. In some courts, participants were routinely held at court calls for longer than scheduled. In others, some Repair of Harm Agreement (ROHA) commitments would interfere with other obligations or bear little relation to the purported offense.
These concerns emphasize the unanswered questions that must be resolved before any further expansion of the courts: Do the requirements of the ROHAs actually repair harm in the community or do they create unnecessary barriers for participants whose ultimate goal is to disengage with the criminal legal system? Is limiting the program to offenses without a clear victim a missed opportunity to fully realize the benefit and strengths of the restorative justice model?
RJCCs are meant to be community courts. However, they fall short of this goal by lacking involvement and community oversight. Once again, we urge the Circuit Court of Cook County and OCJ to immediately implement a community oversight model to its existing RJCCs and pause the development or expansion of the program until such a model is implemented. The lack of community presence in the courts as they stand now is antithetical to a true restorative justice practice and permits court actors to continue operating unchecked.
Until the Circuit Court of Cook County comprehensively addresses these concerns—within the purview and the robust engagement of the communities it serves—it cannot ensure that the RJCC program is effectively living up to its stated mission.
Maris Medina (she/her) is a Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) Intern at Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and a law student at Loyola University Chicago.