Dart: Prison Population Will Jump Because Of Rauner's Cuts To Social Programs
(CBS) -- Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is issuing a dire warning about what will happen to his jail because of Governor Bruce Rauner's cuts to state social safety net programs, reports CBS 2's Mike Parker.
The ARK, a community project of St. Sabina Catholic Church, is called an after school center, but it operates seven days a week from 3 to 10 p.m., giving at-risk kids on the South Side a safe place to learn and have fun away from the streets.
Anthony Lovelace is a regular at The ARK.
"The program is a beacon of hope and a safe haven for me," he said.
Now a big question mark hangs over these kids. State money, $200,000 a year, has dried up.
A letter came in January from the Rauner administration, saying, "You are to cease any and all operations funded by this grant, effective immediately."
"We'll have to cut back on the number of youth we can support and provide services to," said program director Jocelyn Jones.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is incensed by the scores of social service cuts by the Rauner administration. He predicts an avalanche of new inmates at his Cook County Jail.
"You remove all the programs that have been shown to work by giving kids positive things to do, what do you think is going to end up happen?" Dart said. "I would suggest to you that the people that operate the juvenile detention facility and our location are going to see more people coming in."
Asked about the sheriff's fears Monday, Governor Rauner asked for patience.
"We've got to put money back in there, but to do that, we've got to unburden our taxpayers, reallocate resources and get our state turned around, and we'll have the money for our social services."
The governor says he want to reduce the state prison population by 25 percent in the next decade.
Dart says cutting social safety net programs will only widen the pipeline into the criminal justice system.
