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Executive Report

Juvenile justice study committee

Judicial policy toward juvenile offenders will be reviewed beginning in January by the legislative Joint Juvenile Justice Study Committee chaired by Sen. Dawn Clark Netsch (D., Chicago) and Rep. Harold A. Katz (D., Glencoe). There has been controversy over intervention by the courts in the cases of status offenders — juveniles convicted of noncriminal acts such as truancy or running away from home. Some believe that Illinois should follow the lead of other states and remove status offenders from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court system. Others question whether Illinois is complying with the federal law which requires that status offenders be kept separate from delinquents and adults. Some smaller counties lack the funds to provide separate facilities.

Sentencing is a problem with juveniles who commit violent crimes. In Illinois, once a juvenile has been convicted of a violent act, he is turned over to the Department of Corrections (DOC), and the juvenile courts no longer have jurisdiction. Because of the seemingly short sentences given by the DOC (the average is about nine months), some judges have been waiving juveniles to adult courts to assure a stronger penalty. The joint committee will study the possibility of determinant sentencing for violent offenders as well as types of rehabilitation and new ways of dealing with status offenders. The joint committee will participate in the Model Committee Staff Project in Juvenile Justice, a program of Denver-based Legis 50. Five states are participating in the program which is aimed at improving the effectiveness of legislative committees by hiring staff trained in the area being studied.

Governor admits mistake

In the course of his January 10,1979 inaugural address Gov. James R. Thompson apologized to the public for his mistake in misleading the voters with a too fast veto of a pay raise bill November 29. Gov. Thompson said, "I speak only to my promise during the campaign to veto any postelection pay raises. In November, I did veto them, but many people concluded that the manner in which I did so, to paraphrase Macbeth, kept the word of promise to your ear and broke it to your hope. And you were right. And I apologize."

The governor shunned any discussion of major objectives during a 15-minute address. The governor said that his decision to call a special session to reconsider the pay raises for most state officials was prompted by a single letter from a woman, returning his campaign button. "She said she couldn't wear it any more," he said. "And that was when I knew that the matter had to be set right-----" All other statewide officials were inaugurated with Gov. Thompson, including Lt,Gov. Dave O'Neal, Attorney General William J. Scott, Secretary of State Alan J. Dixon, Treasurer Jerome Cosentino and Comptroller Roland Burris. Burris, the first black man ever elected to statewide office in Illinois, delivered a short, moving speech, saying Jhat the spirit of Abraham Lincoln would be pleased.

State Stix

The comptroller's monthly report showed the general funds average daily available balance in December to be $212.6 million; the general funds end-of-month balance was $208.8 million and the combined funds end-of-month was $319.8 million .... The maximum lawful interest rate for residential real estate mortgage loans in January is 10% per cent .... The statewide unemployment rate for December was 6.5 per cent, a significant increase from 5.8 per cent in November. Final unemployment rates for October in the state's major cities were: Chicago, 5.3 per cent; Bloomington-Normal, 3.2 per cent; Champaign- Urbana, 4.2 per cent; Decatur, 5.8 per cent; Davenport-Rock Island-Moline, 4.1 per cent; East St. Louis area, 5.6 per cent; Kankakee, 8.0 per cent; Peoria, 4.3 per cent; Rockford, 5.0 per cent; and Springfield, 5.6 per cent.

February 1979/Illinois Issues/28


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