Restorative justice court program expands to Chicago's south suburbs
SAUK VILLAGE, Ill. (CBS) – A program that gives some people who were convicted of a non-violent crime a second chance is expanding in south suburban Sauk Village.
The program, Restorative Justice Community Court, helps young people clear their criminal record.
"The restorative justice program was something that I think this village needed," said David Fields, a Sauk Village resident.
Fields said he's fully behind the Restorative Justice Community Court program that's coming to his community.
"We have young people out here that get into things and only because of peer pressure," he said.
The program is coming to the suburbs for the first time. Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller said she's been advocating for the program to come to the suburbs for the past five years.
"We get heat maps of where crime is happening and we see that," Miller said. "And a lot of those crime statistics are happening here in Sauk Village."
The program has had recent successful graduations in North Lawndale, Avondale, and Englewood.
Judge Ieshia Gray will preside over the Sauk Village Court.
"I call it filling in the gaps, bridging the gaps, really," Gray said. "And so we'll offer resources. I think about this community who will put their arms around them."
Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans said since 2017, about 300 people have graduated from the program.
"I think about the young people here who deserve a second chance," Evans said. "I think about the community that's gonna put their arms around them."
Fields said he'll be stepping up to help out with the program.
"I'm going to volunteer anyway that I can," he said. "If it means that getting some of our young people and bringing them here."
Evans said he plans to expand the Restorative Justice Community Court program to three other communities next year. It's helped hundreds of participants reform their lives and avoid contact with the criminal justice system.
