Report details complaints on how Cook County shared information on juvenile offenders
CHICAGO (CBS) – A new report from a Cook County watchdog highlighted complaints about the confidential information of juvenile offenders being shared.
The Office of the Inspector General said there was a prior agreement between a law center and the Public Defender's Office to share the information, so they could solicit minors to use their legal services.
They said this was all done to get funding for restorative justice issues.
The OIG's office recommended staff at the Public Defender's Office be retrained on the sharing of confidential information.
In addition, some attorneys may face state disciplinary action.
A spokesperson for the public defender's office said when current Public Defender Sharone Mitchell took office in 2021, his office determined the agreement to share information on juvenile offenders was unethical.
Mitchell terminated the information-sharing agreement in 2021, and referred the matter to the inspector general's office for an investigation.