Latest news with #Stalnaker
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
Hampton police open new substation at Buckroe Beach this weekend
The Hampton Police Division is ringing in the Memorial Day holiday with a pilot program at Buckroe Beach to help deter youth violence throughout the summer. HPD partnered with the Hopeful Hampton collaborative to create the Shoreline Operations Station. The station will be a central satellite post near the pavilion that will combine the two groups' functions by having police officers on site while also offering information city programs such as youth violence prevention and law enforcement careers. Additionally, the new station's policing capabilities will include processing charges against law violators and issuing summonses for parents of children engaging in delinquent behavior. The station opened this weekend and will operate throughout the summer. Hampton normally has school resource officers patrolling the beaches during the summer, according to HPD spokesperson Shaun Stalnaker. However, this year, the city is seeing incidents before school has dismissed for the year. 'This will be the first time we partner up and do it all at the same time together,' Stalnaker said. 'It's just, we're starting a little bit earlier this year as opposed to waiting until the school resource officers go out there.' Norfolk judge asks attorneys to explain who has authority over misdemeanor case Navy wants to test drinking water for synthetic chemicals near Chesapeake's Northwest Annex New details emerge for Newport News' Costco relocation, but traffic concerns remain Richmond's 2nd highest-ranking official returning to Newport News as deputy city manager Virginia Beach church ends bid to relocate to Beach Cinema Alehouse space One such incident of disorderly conduct at Buckroe Beach includes a 400-person 'pop-up party' this month that led to several fights on the beach, according to WTKR reporting. However, Stalnaker noted this initiative is not a direct response to that episode. Hampton Commonwealth's Attorney Anton Bell said in a statement the additional resources at Buckroe will help quell any potential incidents as the summer heats up. 'This initiative combines proactive community support with firm enforcement to ensure everyone can safely enjoy our public assets,' Bell said in the statement. The substation will be manned from noon to 8 p.m. on the weekends until school resource officers get out of school June 15. After that, it will be manned daily during those hours through Labor Day. However, Office of Youth and Young Adult Opportunities Director and Hopeful Hampton member, Latiesha Handie, added in a statement this substation is not meant to criminalize young people's fun. It's meant to ensure that fun remains safe for everyone. 'Our young people thrive when they feel seen, supported and safe,' Handie said in the statement. 'This initiative not only reinforces public safety, but also creates an opportunity for positive engagement between youth, families and community resources.' Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037,
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lewis County Economic Development Authority celebrates new property investment
WESTON, (WBOY) — Tuesday morning, the Lewis County Economic Development Authority (EDA) held an event to celebrate a new property investment of a 22,000 square-foot building on a 1.5-acre fenced-in lot, which is now leasable and can provide the EDA with a regular source of income. 'It's really a momentous occasion for us, because it's the first time we've ever been able to have income-producing property as an economic development authority,' said Lewis County EDA President Kevin Stalnaker. 'Really, we look at this as the first step in other opportunities that are gonna happen.' A release provided by the Lewis County EDA stated that the new property is located less than a third of a mile from Interstate 79 and Corridor H, opening up opportunities to transportation-based businesses as well. Prison Break TV show needs extras for filming in West Virginia 'Lewis County is really poised for success with the intersection here of Route 48 and Interstate 79, so we've got a lot of properties and we're gonna be able to expand that over the years,' Stalnaker added. According to Stalnaker, the property is ready and able to be rented out for any type of industrial manufacturing type of use. 'It's new construction, so we're excited to be able to offer that to the community,' he stated, adding that other things have also come to Lewis County recently. 'Within the last 30 days, Dunkin' Donuts opened up for us here and we've got Starbucks that's not far behind,' said Stalnaker. 'We expect these things to continue to grow and build upon themselves, and really to make Lewis County an economic area for growth.' The Lewis County EDA also collaborated with the Lewis County Commission for this agreement to expand the new Corridor Business Park that's being developed at this location, adding more than 55 acres to the park. 'I think overall, we're just excited about the opportunity that we see happening here in Lewis County and for economic development and the long-term success that we expect to happen over time,' said Stalnaker. This property investment was celebrated during a meeting at the Lewis County Courthouse with the Lewis County Commission. Different people across the Lewis County community came out to attend this celebration, as well as West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
American Military News
27-04-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
Illinois allows kids as young as 10 to be put in detention. A bill before the state House could change that
In more than two decades as a juvenile probation officer in downstate Clinton County, Carla Stalnaker said barely a handful of children younger than 12 have found themselves in her office. And only a small number of those were put in a detention center. But the juvenile justice veteran thinks it's time to phase out that option. 'The old scared-straight thing … that doesn't work,' Stalnaker said. 'They want help. They're not hard and bitter about the system yet.' Illinois doesn't allow children under 10 to be held in detention facilities. But last year, there were about a dozen admissions of children under 12 and more than 60 of children who were 12 years old, according to data from the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission. Cases like those are the subject of a bill that was passed in the state Senate last week that, if approved by the House and signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, would essentially ban the detention of kids 12 and under, with some exceptions for 12-year-olds accused of certain violent crimes. The bill would do away with an option for youthful offenders that a report from the state's Juvenile Justice Commission described as 'potentially life-altering' and disproportionately detrimental to Black children. Advocates argue detention can add to trauma for children who in many cases have already experienced problems before they ever get into trouble with law enforcement, adding to risk factors that may lead them to act out again. Beyond that, younger children can be exposed to danger or negative influences from older teenagers in detention, or face potential issues from isolation if they're sequestered away for their own protection, said Patrick Keenan-Devlin, executive director at the Moran Center for Youth Advocacy. But opponents say the change would place the onus for overseeing troubled young kids on an already overburdened social services infrastructure. The Illinois Sheriffs' Association opposes the change and its executive director, Jim Kaitschuk, questioned whether there are sufficient alternatives available to what is essentially jail for 10- or 11-year-olds accused of violent crimes. 'Who's gonna take them?' Kaitschuk asked, pointing as an example to the difficulty the state's Department of Children and Family Services has in finding placements for hundreds of children in its care. 'That's the rub, right out of the gate.' The bill came together as an agreement between the Juvenile Justice Initiative, an Evanston-based advocacy group, and the Illinois Probation and Court Services Association, a professional organization that Stalnaker leads. The legislation also is backed by the state Department of Juvenile Justice, spokesperson Dominique Newman said. In addition to raising the age that kids can be detained from 10 to 12, starting in mid-2027 the bill would also raise the standard for 12-year-olds to be detained to those accused of specific violent crimes including first-degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, some instances of battery involving guns and aggravated carjacking. The bill also would allow the Juvenile Justice Commission to study the possibility of further raising the minimum age to 14 and make recommendations on services that can be used as alternatives to detention. Detention for any amount of time can be detrimental to juveniles, and the youngest ones are in an especially critical period, said Sara Thomas, a research assistant professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine who studies adolescent development. Juveniles incarcerated for any amount of time on average only achieved five out of eight measures of basic success in a recently published yearslong study co-led by Thomas, including in areas such as earning a high school degree, holding a job and maintaining a social support system. Those outcomes generally got worse the longer a person was incarcerated, even among those who started with similar risk factors, she said. The study focused on more than 1,800 youths sampled at intake at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in the 1990s, and it didn't differentiate between different ages of detained youth. 'Adolescents and especially younger adolescents' brains are so uniquely sensitive to their social environments, and incarceration during that period of time is profoundly disruptive to their development,' Thomas said in an interview. 'It sets kids up to have long-term consequences that follow them into adulthood.' And at the youngest ages that are the subject of the pending legislation, a disproportionate number of Black children are detained, the Juvenile Justice Commission found in its 2021 report on the issue. While about 15% of children statewide are Black, they made up more than two-thirds of detention admissions for 10- to 12-year-olds in 2019, the report said. Still, the bill that would end detention for that age group has faced opposition from people who say social services that could be used as alternatives are strained or unsuitable for some children. Law enforcement doesn't 'overutilize' its ability to detain children, and taking the option off the table could put other children in the community in danger, Kaitschuk of the sheriff's association said in an interview. 'I'm not pleading with you to say I want to lock up all these kids. I don't,' Kaitschuk said. 'I want services available to them.' The Senate passed the bill 33-17 with two Republicans voting in favor and a handful of lawmakers sitting it out. If it's brought to a roll call in the House, it likely will follow a vote that saw moderate Democrats defeating a measure related to resentencing reform last week. During the Senate floor debate, Republican state Sen. Steve McClure of Litchfield said he feared the detention bill would result in more kids diverted into DCFS, which 'could be more detrimental than a few hours of detention.' While DCFS can be a possible placement for juveniles diverted from detention in cases of abuse or neglect, there are other alternatives depending on the child's situation and the severity of the alleged crime. Those could include sending the child back home or to a relative's house to cool off, Elizabeth Clarke of the Juvenile Justice Initiative said. Others are referred to counseling or crisis and mental health services. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Robert Peters of Chicago, directs probation and court services to share any instances where alternatives 'failed or were lacking.' In rural Clinton County, even crisis services can take a long time to arrive, Stalnaker said. Her assessment is in line with the Juvenile Justice Commission's 2021 report, which found gaps in emergency placements for kids outside of Cook County. Still, Stalnaker said she is backing the bill as it provides a path to support those services as an alternative to detention. Along with another Senate bill passed this year to create a reform task force within the Juvenile Justice Commission, Clarke said the legislation creates an opportunity to 'frontload the system' with alternatives to detention that could keep kids from repeatedly committing crimes into adulthood. Chicago has seen a smattering of very young kids accused of violent crimes, with several cases seared into the city's memory. In 1994, Robert 'Yummy' Sandifer was a 4-foot-6-inches tall 11-year-old on the run after allegedly killing his 14-year-old neighbor when he was killed by two fellow gang members, who themselves were only 14 and 16. Just a few years later, police wrongly accused two boys, ages 7 and 8, of killing 11-year-old Ryan Harris before the charges were dropped. Since they were too young to be placed in detention at the time they were accused, the boys spent three days in a hospital before being sent home with custom-fitted monitoring bracelets. One of the boys exonerated in that case, Romarr Gipson, was later sentenced to 52 years in prison for a 2006 double shooting when he was 21. Those cases, while memorable, are rare. According to the 2021 report from the Juvenile Justice Commission, the most common charge against preteens locked up from 2017 to 2020 was aggravated battery — also a violent crime, but a broad charge that covers a range of alleged actions. In total, there were 77 admissions of children ages 10-12 placed in detention last year, including only one instance of a 10-year-old and 12 instances involving 11-year-olds, according to the Juvenile Justice Commission. Cook County saw 20 instances total, all but one involving a 12-year-old. 'I've been to the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center so many times I couldn't even count,' Keenan-Devlin added. 'The image of my 10-year-old in that facility should shock the conscience.' As someone with experience in the the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, Eric Anderson is in favor of raising the limit on who can be put there. At 15, he opened fire trying to hit a gang rival and instead shot two 13-year-old girls in a double murder that made headlines in the mid-1990s. He was charged as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. He spent months at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center before he was sentenced as an adult. His earliest experiences with detention 'set the stage for what is a lifelong battle' in building relationships and finding acceptance with others, he said. Now in his 40s, Anderson, released in 2023 after being resentenced, works at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation on the South Side. 'Children need the safety of caregivers who are trusted,' Anderson said. 'To cry to, or to express their hurts or their fears to. And in a detention center, there is none of that. Not for children or for anybody else.' The bill would not change any policies for people detained at 15, as Anderson was. But he said he supports limiting the possibilities for younger kids. 'To do that to an 11-year-old or a 12-year-old is fundamentally harmful,' he said. Peters, the bill's sponsor, said part of his backing of the bill comes from his own personal experience as a kid who 'acted out.' 'I was very lucky,' he said, 'and I don't think we should have luck play such an active role.' ___ © 2025 Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Miami Herald
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Illinois allows kids as young as 10 to be put in detention. A bill before the state House could change that
CHICAGO - In more than two decades as a juvenile probation officer in downstate Clinton County, Carla Stalnaker said barely a handful of children younger than 12 have found themselves in her office. And only a small number of those were put in a detention center. But the juvenile justice veteran thinks it's time to phase out that option. "The old scared-straight thing … that doesn't work," Stalnaker said. "They want help. They're not hard and bitter about the system yet." Illinois doesn't allow children under 10 to be held in detention facilities. But last year, there were about a dozen admissions of children under 12 and more than 60 of children who were 12 years old, according to data from the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission. Cases like those are the subject of a bill that was passed in the state Senate last week that, if approved by the House and signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, would essentially ban the detention of kids 12 and under, with some exceptions for 12-year-olds accused of certain violent crimes. The bill would do away with an option for youthful offenders that a report from the state's Juvenile Justice Commission described as "potentially life-altering" and disproportionately detrimental to Black children. Advocates argue detention can add to trauma for children who in many cases have already experienced problems before they ever get into trouble with law enforcement, adding to risk factors that may lead them to act out again. Beyond that, younger children can be exposed to danger or negative influences from older teenagers in detention, or face potential issues from isolation if they're sequestered away for their own protection, said Patrick Keenan-Devlin, executive director at the Moran Center for Youth Advocacy. But opponents say the change would place the onus for overseeing troubled young kids on an already overburdened social services infrastructure. The Illinois Sheriffs' Association opposes the change and its executive director, Jim Kaitschuk, questioned whether there are sufficient alternatives available to what is essentially jail for 10- or 11-year-olds accused of violent crimes. "Who's gonna take them?" Kaitschuk asked, pointing as an example to the difficulty the state's Department of Children and Family Services has in finding placements for hundreds of children in its care. "That's the rub, right out of the gate." The bill came together as an agreement between the Juvenile Justice Initiative, an Evanston-based advocacy group, and the Illinois Probation and Court Services Association, a professional organization that Stalnaker leads. The legislation also is backed by the state Department of Juvenile Justice, spokesperson Dominique Newman said. In addition to raising the age that kids can be detained from 10 to 12, starting in mid-2027 the bill would also raise the standard for 12-year-olds to be detained to those accused of specific violent crimes including first-degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, some instances of battery involving guns and aggravated carjacking. The bill also would allow the Juvenile Justice Commission to study the possibility of further raising the minimum age to 14 and make recommendations on services that can be used as alternatives to detention. Detention for any amount of time can be detrimental to juveniles, and the youngest ones are in an especially critical period, said Sara Thomas, a research assistant professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine who studies adolescent development. Juveniles incarcerated for any amount of time on average only achieved five out of eight measures of basic success in a recently published yearslong study co-led by Thomas, including in areas such as earning a high school degree, holding a job and maintaining a social support system. Those outcomes generally got worse the longer a person was incarcerated, even among those who started with similar risk factors, she said. The study focused on more than 1,800 youths sampled at intake at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in the 1990s, and it didn't differentiate between different ages of detained youth. "Adolescents and especially younger adolescents' brains are so uniquely sensitive to their social environments, and incarceration during that period of time is profoundly disruptive to their development," Thomas said in an interview. "It sets kids up to have long-term consequences that follow them into adulthood." And at the youngest ages that are the subject of the pending legislation, a disproportionate number of Black children are detained, the Juvenile Justice Commission found in its 2021 report on the issue. While about 15% of children statewide are Black, they made up more than two-thirds of detention admissions for 10- to 12-year-olds in 2019, the report said. Still, the bill that would end detention for that age group has faced opposition from people who say social services that could be used as alternatives are strained or unsuitable for some children. Law enforcement doesn't "overutilize" its ability to detain children, and taking the option off the table could put other children in the community in danger, Kaitschuk of the sheriff's association said in an interview. "I'm not pleading with you to say I want to lock up all these kids. I don't," Kaitschuk said. "I want services available to them." The Senate passed the bill 33-17 with two Republicans voting in favor and a handful of lawmakers sitting it out. If it's brought to a roll call in the House, it likely will follow a vote that saw moderate Democrats defeating a measure related to resentencing reform last week. During the Senate floor debate, Republican state Sen. Steve McClure of Litchfield said he feared the detention bill would result in more kids diverted into DCFS, which "could be more detrimental than a few hours of detention." While DCFS can be a possible placement for juveniles diverted from detention in cases of abuse or neglect, there are other alternatives depending on the child's situation and the severity of the alleged crime. Those could include sending the child back home or to a relative's house to cool off, Elizabeth Clarke of the Juvenile Justice Initiative said. Others are referred to counseling or crisis and mental health services. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Robert Peters of Chicago, directs probation and court services to share any instances where alternatives "failed or were lacking." In rural Clinton County, even crisis services can take a long time to arrive, Stalnaker said. Her assessment is in line with the Juvenile Justice Commission's 2021 report, which found gaps in emergency placements for kids outside of Cook County. Still, Stalnaker said she is backing the bill as it provides a path to support those services as an alternative to detention. Along with another Senate bill passed this year to create a reform task force within the Juvenile Justice Commission, Clarke said the legislation creates an opportunity to "frontload the system" with alternatives to detention that could keep kids from repeatedly committing crimes into adulthood. Chicago has seen a smattering of very young kids accused of violent crimes, with several cases seared into the city's memory. In 1994, Robert "Yummy" Sandifer was a 4-foot-6-inches tall 11-year-old on the run after allegedly killing his 14-year-old neighbor when he was killed by two fellow gang members, who themselves were only 14 and 16. Just a few years later, police wrongly accused two boys, ages 7 and 8, of killing 11-year-old Ryan Harris before the charges were dropped. Since they were too young to be placed in detention at the time they were accused, the boys spent three days in a hospital before being sent home with custom-fitted monitoring bracelets. One of the boys exonerated in that case, Romarr Gipson, was later sentenced to 52 years in prison for a 2006 double shooting when he was 21. Those cases, while memorable, are rare. According to the 2021 report from the Juvenile Justice Commission, the most common charge against preteens locked up from 2017 to 2020 was aggravated battery - also a violent crime, but a broad charge that covers a range of alleged actions. In total, there were 77 admissions of children ages 10-12 placed in detention last year, including only one instance of a 10-year-old and 12 instances involving 11-year-olds, according to the Juvenile Justice Commission. Cook County saw 20 instances total, all but one involving a 12-year-old. "I've been to the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center so many times I couldn't even count," Keenan-Devlin added. "The image of my 10-year-old in that facility should shock the conscience." As someone with experience in the the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, Eric Anderson is in favor of raising the limit on who can be put there. At 15, heopened fire trying to hit a gang rival and instead shot two 13-year-old girls in a double murder that made headlines in the mid-1990s. He was charged as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. He spent months at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center before he was sentenced as an adult. His earliest experiences with detention "set the stage for what is a lifelong battle" in building relationships and finding acceptance with others, he said. Now in his 40s, Anderson, released in 2023 after being resentenced, works at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation on the South Side. "Children need the safety of caregivers who are trusted," Anderson said. "To cry to, or to express their hurts or their fears to. And in a detention center, there is none of that. Not for children or for anybody else." The bill would not change any policies for people detained at 15, as Anderson was. But he said he supports limiting the possibilities for younger kids. "To do that to an 11-year-old or a 12-year-old is fundamentally harmful," he said. Peters, the bill's sponsor, said part of his backing of the bill comes from his own personal experience as a kid who "acted out." "I was very lucky," he said, "and I don't think we should have luck play such an active role." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Illinois allows kids as young as 10 to be put in detention. A bill before the state House could change that
CHICAGO — In more than two decades as a juvenile probation officer in downstate Clinton County, Carla Stalnaker said barely a handful of children younger than 12 have found themselves in her office. And only a small number of those were put in a detention center. But the juvenile justice veteran thinks it's time to phase out that option. 'The old scared-straight thing … that doesn't work,' Stalnaker said. 'They want help. They're not hard and bitter about the system yet.' Illinois doesn't allow children under 10 to be held in detention facilities. But last year, there were about a dozen admissions of children under 12 and more than 60 of children who were 12 years old, according to data from the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission. Cases like those are the subject of a bill that was passed in the state Senate last week that, if approved by the House and signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, would essentially ban the detention of kids 12 and under, with some exceptions for 12-year-olds accused of certain violent crimes. The bill would do away with an option for youthful offenders that a report from the state's Juvenile Justice Commission described as 'potentially life-altering' and disproportionately detrimental to Black children. Advocates argue detention can add to trauma for children who in many cases have already experienced problems before they ever get into trouble with law enforcement, adding to risk factors that may lead them to act out again. Beyond that, younger children can be exposed to danger or negative influences from older teenagers in detention, or face potential issues from isolation if they're sequestered away for their own protection, said Patrick Keenan-Devlin, executive director at the Moran Center for Youth Advocacy. But opponents say the change would place the onus for overseeing troubled young kids on an already overburdened social services infrastructure. The Illinois Sheriffs' Association opposes the change and its executive director, Jim Kaitschuk, questioned whether there are sufficient alternatives available to what is essentially jail for 10- or 11-year-olds accused of violent crimes. 'Who's gonna take them?' Kaitschuk asked, pointing as an example to the difficulty the state's Department of Children and Family Services has in finding placements for hundreds of children in its care. 'That's the rub, right out of the gate.' The bill came together as an agreement between the Juvenile Justice Initiative, an Evanston-based advocacy group, and the Illinois Probation and Court Services Association, a professional organization that Stalnaker leads. The legislation also is backed by the state Department of Juvenile Justice, spokesperson Dominique Newman said. In addition to raising the age that kids can be detained from 10 to 12, starting in mid-2027 the bill would also raise the standard for 12-year-olds to be detained to those accused of specific violent crimes including first-degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, some instances of battery involving guns and aggravated carjacking. The bill also would allow the Juvenile Justice Commission to study the possibility of further raising the minimum age to 14 and make recommendations on services that can be used as alternatives to detention. Detention for any amount of time can be detrimental to juveniles, and the youngest ones are in an especially critical period, said Sara Thomas, a research assistant professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine who studies adolescent development. Juveniles incarcerated for any amount of time on average only achieved five out of eight measures of basic success in a recently published yearslong study co-led by Thomas, including in areas such as earning a high school degree, holding a job and maintaining a social support system. Those outcomes generally got worse the longer a person was incarcerated, even among those who started with similar risk factors, she said. The study focused on more than 1,800 youths sampled at intake at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in the 1990s, and it didn't differentiate between different ages of detained youth. 'Adolescents and especially younger adolescents' brains are so uniquely sensitive to their social environments, and incarceration during that period of time is profoundly disruptive to their development,' Thomas said in an interview. 'It sets kids up to have long-term consequences that follow them into adulthood.' And at the youngest ages that are the subject of the pending legislation, a disproportionate number of Black children are detained, the Juvenile Justice Commission found in its 2021 report on the issue. While about 15% of children statewide are Black, they made up more than two-thirds of detention admissions for 10- to 12-year-olds in 2019, the report said. Still, the bill that would end detention for that age group has faced opposition from people who say social services that could be used as alternatives are strained or unsuitable for some children. Law enforcement doesn't 'overutilize' its ability to detain children, and taking the option off the table could put other children in the community in danger, Kaitschuk of the sheriff's association said in an interview. 'I'm not pleading with you to say I want to lock up all these kids. I don't,' Kaitschuk said. 'I want services available to them.' The Senate passed the bill 33-17 with two Republicans voting in favor and a handful of lawmakers sitting it out. If it's brought to a roll call in the House, it likely will follow a vote that saw moderate Democrats defeating a measure related to resentencing reform last week. During the Senate floor debate, Republican state Sen. Steve McClure of Litchfield said he feared the detention bill would result in more kids diverted into DCFS, which 'could be more detrimental than a few hours of detention.' While DCFS can be a possible placement for juveniles diverted from detention in cases of abuse or neglect, there are other alternatives depending on the child's situation and the severity of the alleged crime. Those could include sending the child back home or to a relative's house to cool off, Elizabeth Clarke of the Juvenile Justice Initiative said. Others are referred to counseling or crisis and mental health services. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Robert Peters of Chicago, directs probation and court services to share any instances where alternatives 'failed or were lacking.' In rural Clinton County, even crisis services can take a long time to arrive, Stalnaker said. Her assessment is in line with the Juvenile Justice Commission's 2021 report, which found gaps in emergency placements for kids outside of Cook County. Still, Stalnaker said she is backing the bill as it provides a path to support those services as an alternative to detention. Along with another Senate bill passed this year to create a reform task force within the Juvenile Justice Commission, Clarke said the legislation creates an opportunity to 'frontload the system' with alternatives to detention that could keep kids from repeatedly committing crimes into adulthood. Chicago has seen a smattering of very young kids accused of violent crimes, with several cases seared into the city's memory. In 1994, Robert 'Yummy' Sandifer was a 4-foot-6-inches tall 11-year-old on the run after allegedly killing his 14-year-old neighbor when he was killed by two fellow gang members, who themselves were only 14 and 16. Just a few years later, police wrongly accused two boys, ages 7 and 8, of killing 11-year-old Ryan Harris before the charges were dropped. Since they were too young to be placed in detention at the time they were accused, the boys spent three days in a hospital before being sent home with custom-fitted monitoring bracelets. One of the boys exonerated in that case, Romarr Gipson, was later sentenced to 52 years in prison for a 2006 double shooting when he was 21. Those cases, while memorable, are rare. According to the 2021 report from the Juvenile Justice Commission, the most common charge against preteens locked up from 2017 to 2020 was aggravated battery — also a violent crime, but a broad charge that covers a range of alleged actions. In total, there were 77 admissions of children ages 10-12 placed in detention last year, including only one instance of a 10-year-old and 12 instances involving 11-year-olds, according to the Juvenile Justice Commission. Cook County saw 20 instances total, all but one involving a 12-year-old. 'I've been to the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center so many times I couldn't even count,' Keenan-Devlin added. 'The image of my 10-year-old in that facility should shock the conscience.' As someone with experience in the the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, Eric Anderson is in favor of raising the limit on who can be put there. At 15, he opened fire trying to hit a gang rival and instead shot two 13-year-old girls in a double murder that made headlines in the mid-1990s. He was charged as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. He spent months at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center before he was sentenced as an adult. His earliest experiences with detention 'set the stage for what is a lifelong battle' in building relationships and finding acceptance with others, he said. Now in his 40s, Anderson, released in 2023 after being resentenced, works at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation on the South Side. 'Children need the safety of caregivers who are trusted,' Anderson said. 'To cry to, or to express their hurts or their fears to. And in a detention center, there is none of that. Not for children or for anybody else.' The bill would not change any policies for people detained at 15, as Anderson was. But he said he supports limiting the possibilities for younger kids. 'To do that to an 11-year-old or a 12-year-old is fundamentally harmful,' he said. Peters, the bill's sponsor, said part of his backing of the bill comes from his own personal experience as a kid who 'acted out.' 'I was very lucky,' he said, 'and I don't think we should have luck play such an active role.'
