Call to Order
Meeting was called to order at 1:11 PM.
Roll Call
Commissioners: George Hill, Wayne Straza (Vice Chair), Eugene Griffin, Andrew Jones, Kurt Friedenauer, Patricia Connell, Rev. Charles Collins, Gary Leofanti (Chairman), Seth Ragland, Rodney Ahitow. Quorum declared present.
Staff: Mary O’Brien, Julie Stremlau, Deb McCarrel, Karrie Rueter, Miguel Millett, Ron Smith.
Approval of Minutes
Chairman Leofanti asked Vice Chairman Wayne Straza to direct the meeting. Vice Chairman Straza requested approval of the minutes. Patricia Connell moved to approve and Rodney Ahitow seconded the motion. All in favor, minutes approved.
Annual Report Update
The Annual Report has been submitted to OJJDP, the Governor and General Assembly. It has been sent to state’s attorneys, probation court services, juvenile judges, and chief judges and is posted on the DHS website.
Status of Funds Report
Award funding to First Defense and DJJ. Those contracts will be processed next week. No major changes since last month.
Title V Grant Application
Title V Grant Application was submitted to OJJDP on time.
Truancy RFP Update
Planning and Grants Committee reviewed the revised Truancy RFP. It was approved by the Committee. Patricia Connell asked the Commission to approve the draft as written. If changes are needed it is requested that the Commission allow the Executive Committee to review any changes and approve those edits. Rodney Ahitow motioned to approve as is. Gary Leofanti seconded the motion. All in favor, approved.
Compliance Update
Ron Smith reported that the Franklin County violations were assessed and they were found with zero violations from the 13 reported in the last meeting. There appears to be an issue with JMIS and entering of data. They are working on fixing the problem. Please see the full report (attached: IJJC Quarter Reports (pdf)). The figures have changed and the de minimis will be smaller for jail removal and DSO in 2009. We remain in compliance.
Planning & Grants Sub-Committee
Patricia Connell reported that the Title V application has been submitted. The Truancy RFP has been approved by the Planning and Grants Committee and was just approved by the Commission. The Committee was approached for unsolicited funds from Project Oz of McLean County. There is an issue of an increased number of kids being ordered out of their homes due to domestic violence. There are no placements available for the children and some are ending up in detention. This is a violation. The CCBYS program is being contracted to assist these children and this provider is asking for an enhancement for this issue. Patricia Connell stated she does not feel the Commission should fund this as it would be a temporary fix. After a lengthy discussion, it was recommended that the provider, local judges, states attorney, DHS and DCFS meet and discuss this problem. Commissioners Patricia Connell and George Hill are willing to assist. The Commission will receive an update at the next meeting and if necessary there will be an addendum to the 3-Year Plan.
DMC Sub-Committee
DMC Committee approved the South Suburbs DMC Summit. It will be June 2nd and 3rd at the Doubletree in Chicago. The request is for $10,000, which is a reduction of $5,000 from the original request. Vice Chairman Straza requested a motion to approve. Andrew Jones motioned, no second required. All in favor, motion approved.
Title II Grant Application 3-Year Plan
The 3-Year Plan has been reviewed and approved by all Committees. Patricia Connell requested a motion to approve the 3-Year Plan as edited. Further, as we would like to ensure the plan is submitted on time, she requested the Commission grant approval authority to the Executive Committee if further changes are required after their vote. Vice Chairman Straza moved for a vote. All in favor, motion carried.
Legislative Update
Patricia Connell reported that Senator Raul’s bills are being reviewed. Bill 1724 prohibits the use of statements taken without counsel and 1725 which places a statutory limitation on the length of parole aftercare. Kurt Friendenauer attended the Senate Committee meeting and was asked to report to the Commission. Kurt Friedenauer reported there was no testimony given on 1724. 1725 will be referred out for study by DJJ advisory or Redeploy, he was not sure. He is opposed to this legislation and recommends the Commission continue to monitor these bills.
Other bills were 2463, which will increase the age of eligibility for detention from 10 to 13. 2627 prohibits the use of municipal lockups for anyone under 17 unless they are in adult court. Bill 2627 would put us back in compliance with the federal regulations. 1126 is the use of auto-expungement of those arrested but never found guilty. Once they turn 17, the record is removed. 1129 states that any incriminating information from a minor or parent or guardian obtained in a behavioral health screening, assessment, etc. is not admissible as evidence.
JCEC Update
The application is due April 9th. Kurt Friedenauer added that ICJIA has a planning meeting for development of stimulus money. There was no information regarding matching of funds. They will meet again in two weeks. The Recovery Act was discussed Vice Chairman Straza will look into this, as we do not want to fail to meet the deadline. The state is currently waiting for direction on the federal level and the Secretary of DHS is aware and the agencies were asked to submit to ICJIA the desired proposals.
Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice Update
The Federal Advisory Committee meeting is coming up, March 15th-17th. Rev. Collins is attending for Chairman Gary Leofanti.
Federal Coordinating Council Update
No update.
ICJIA Update
No update. ICJIA is still working on finalizing the gender specific reports. They are currently under the review process and will possibly have the report for the June meeting.
JDAI Update
JDAI will report in June their plans for moving forward with JDAI in Illinois. The plan is to implement statewide replication instead of site replication. The details are in the 3-Year Plan. Their role could be to advise the Commission, monitor the Transportation Grant, jail removal, status offenses and the detention centers. Vice Chairman Straza stated the Commission will assist JDAI in achieving their goals with the understanding that this subcommittee will not affect Ron Smith, Compliance Monitor. Karrie Rueter replied that this would not affect Mr. Ron Smith.
Redeploy Illinois Update
The budget was discussed at the February meeting. There is a baseline evaluation of the current Redeploy sites, a recidivism study. They are discussing more research with the J-Watch system. There will be more information shared at the June meeting.
EUDL Update
No update.
Other Business
The Retreat is scheduled for June 10th and 11th at the Lake County Beach Resort. Vice Chairman Straza asked that Mr. Michael Mahoney attend the Retreat. Wendy Reese will assist with the arrangements.
Adjournment
Kurt Friendenauer motioned for the meeting to be adjourned, Andrew Jones seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 2:15 PM.