I. Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 10:20 AM.
Commissioners Present: Chairman George Timberlake, Lisa Jacobs, George Hill, Rick Velasquez, Pamela Rodriguez , Esther Franco-Payne, Debra Ferguson, Randall Strickland, Edith Crigler, Wayne Straza, Julie Biehl, Director Arthur Bishop, Eugene Griffin, Patrick Nelson, Roseanna Ander. Quorum declared present.
Staff Present: Karrie Rueter, Julie Stremlau, Lin Ferguson, Jeff Bradley, Miguel Millett, Michelle Arnold, Ron Smith, Dick Walsh.
Guests: Mark Myrent, Heather Renwick, Edward Rangel.
II. Approval of Minutes:
Commissioner Hill made the motion to approve the minutes, Commissioner Rodriguez seconded the motion. All in favor, motion passed.
III. Commissioner Roles and Responsibilities
There has been difficulty in achieving quorum for various Commission Committee meetings. Chairman Timberlake stressed that there is a lack of support for the committees. He quoted the bylaws which state that a majority of the members must be present to conduct business. Commissioner Velasquez asked for clarification on voting committee members. Commissioner Rodriguez reported that on the DMC committee there are regular attendees but other members of the committee do not attend. The attendance problem prevents the Committee from conducting business. Commissioner Franco-Payne suggested that we have smaller committees to avoid a lack of quorum.
Chairman Timberlake has notified the Governor’s Office of the Commissioners whom are not participating and need to be replaced. Concerning the ad hoc committees the bylaws are silent. Commissioner Hill also wanted to verify that it is possible to have non-commissioners as voting members on any committee. The bylaws do not stipulate that, but any non-commissioner serving on a committee has 30 days to complete the appropriate forms for approval and the ethics training to become a voting member. As a Commission, the members voted in the past that non-commission members of committees would not be voting members. Every Commissioner should be an active member on at least one committee. If you are interested in resigning or being appointed to a committee, please advise Chairman Timberlake. Chairman Timberlake asked DHS staff to determine how many non-commissioner members are on each committee and to assure they have completed all of the submission requirements for membership.
Karrie Rueter explained that as a commissioner or voting member you are ineligible for grant funds. Also remember that all Commission and committee meetings must follow the Open Meetings Act. Karrie’s understanding is that if you have a discussion out of the open meeting, it must be reported. Commissioners may participate in meetings by phone. They may vote on motions and take part in all activities, but they cannot count toward the quorum via telephone. All sites must be ADA compliant and a quorum must be present at the site.
IV. Title II Formula Grant Application:
Karrie Rueter sent the draft application out last week for comment by the Commissioners. This is third annual application of a 3-year plan. The document updates what we said we were going to do in the first 3-year plan in 2008, what has changed and any changes in our intents or program areas going forward. The 2007 data is from the Criminal Justice information Authority (ICJIA). The section on DMC is updated each year. The Disaster Preparedness Plan is a new section of the report and is not yet complete, but is in progress. The detention centers each have plans coordinated with the county plans which are reviewed annually by IEMA. The DJJ portion is also in progress.
Karrie requested for the DMC Committee to let her know if the changes to the DMC section meet with their approval. As we move forward into the next 3-year planning grant period, Planning & Grants Committee will play a big role. Karrie needs this Committee’s approval on what the DMC Committee will give her within the next week. The application is due at the end of the month. Commissioner Hill made a motion to include section four of the grant application and corresponding DMC program page as edited with the stipulation the application can be submitted. Motion seconded by Commissioner Rodriguez. All in favor, no abstentions, motion approved.
Commissioner Hill moved to provide approval for the entire application after Karrie has all of the required information and to submit the application on time. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Rodriguez. All in favor, motion approved.
The compliance section was approved for late submission of two months by the Planning and Grants Committee to assist the new director at DJJ to understand what is required. Compliance is required within 3 years.
V. Compliance Update-Packet:
Ron Smith gave the Compliance Update. The report stating that we are out of compliance is due to the feds in two months. This raises issues for funding and for the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). We will not be able to apply for Title II funds if we remain out of compliance. Director Bishop wants to work with Dick Walsh and Ron Smith on how to address this issue. What Illinois is doing is out of compliance but is best practice, and we have to make a case of why we should stay out of compliance. We want to alter the interpretation of this law from the Bush administration interpretation to the Obama administration interpretation. Communications has not finalized all of the information in the Annual Report. Commissioner Griffin made the motion to request the acting administrator to reject the current interpretation of sight and sound separation. Chairman Timberlake is to draft a letter outlining the set of talking points that states the Commission’s position. Commissioner Velasquez seconded the motion. All in favor, no abstentions, motion passed.
Chairman Timberlake added that the Commission funded developing standards on how the detention centers operate, which are still in draft form. It needs to be put in the appropriate format to forward to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR). Ron Smith will check with Pete Ketchings to get the format guidance resent and also to verify that these points are compliant with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).
VI. Title V Grant Application Update:
OJJDP has not yet released the Title V information.
VII. Status of Funds:
DJJ distributed a report that explains the workgroup recommendations and a DJJ Newsletter Proposal for feedback. Director Bishop presented a grid that outlines where DJJ is on all of the projects that he has asked the Commission to fund. Director Bishop will have a proposal ready for the April 13th, Planning and Grants Meeting. Commissioner Jacobs suggested that Director Bishop present a proposal with a request of up to a certain amount, which would give the Commission some solid information to vote on. Commissioner Jacobs also asked Director Bishop to provide her with the information concerning the vital pieces of the recommendations as soon as possible. This will give the Commission a better idea of how their resources can be most useful. Chairman Timberlake added that the recommendations currently being addressed should be highlighted. Commissioner Straza made a motion to grant the authority to pay the requested amount of money awaiting the plan for the implementation of guidelines and dot points as described. It will then be forwarded to the Executive Committee. Motion seconded by Commissioner Jacobs. All in favor, Director Bishop abstained. Motion approved.
Commissioner Jacobs thanked those Commissioners who are making visits to the facilities in conjunction with the DJJ Board. The visits are incredibly useful and staff are welcoming and very responsive to questions. Commissioner Hill added that he was very impressed with the staff at the parole hearings. Commissioner Jacobs noted that there is a gymnasium at St. Charles IYC that is beautiful, but will be lost if the skylights are not repaired and the floor needs to be refinished. There are also new bicycles available for the kids to ride with proper supervision, but they have not been able to move forward on that yet. Director Bishop added that the original plan was for the detainees to repair the floor and bicycles but it conflicts with bargaining unit positions. Director Bishop stated that he has preliminary information on juvenile reentry which explains where the youth are being discharged from and where they are going to. We will be able to allocate funds better when we have more reliable data.
VIII. Legislation:
Karrie Rueter asked the Commission to give their input on HB1579. This bill is not very specific nor does it lay out any timelines. Commissioner Velasquez believes this bill is in part due to the elimination of Community Health and Prevention. Karrie explained that the Commission has many members that are youth service providers. It was also discussed that the Commission should have a seat or two on the Youth Services Advisory Committee. Commissioner Straza asked if this legislation is suggesting the Commission is not fulfilling its duty in this capacity. Commissioner Franco-Payne motioned for the Communications Committee to draft a response to the bill for the IJJC to have at least 2 positions on this committee. Commissioner Biehl seconded the motion. Commissioner Hill moved to amend the motion for the Youth Services Advisory Committee to be under the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission. Commissioner Straza seconded the amendment. Chairman Timberlake called for a polled vote: Biehl-No; Crigler-No; Ferguson-No; Franco-Payne-No; Griffin-No; Hill-Yes; Jacobs-No; Straza-Yes; Strickland-No; Timberlake-No; Velasquez-Abstained. Motion denied. Commissioner Griffin motioned for the Communications Committee to respond to this legislation. Commissioner Rodriguez seconded the motion. All in favor motion approved.
HB2841 failed and was passed out this morning; the issue of Expungement is still alive. Karrie explained that we do not want to lose access to the data that goes along with this topic.
IX. ICJIA Reports/Research Agenda:
There are copies available of the 2008 Juvenile Justice and Risk Factor Data Report. The Commission needs to provide a distribution list for the report. It is possible to put this report on disk and it is available on-line. Also needed is a current distribution list for the Juvenile Justice Walk-through report. Karrie is asking for the cooperation of the Commissioners on who they want to receive the report. Commissioner Biehl suggested sending out a one-pager and let people know where and how to access the report electronically. The web-site has the most up-to-date information available and it is being re-engineered. Commissioner Ander still has issue with the timeliness of this report and future data. She believes there is a better and more efficient way to get the data we want. ICJIA staff welcomes any suggestions and participation from the Commission.
There was a discussion about race reporting data and comparisons to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) data. Mark Myrent, ICJIA Executive Director, stated for the Commission to let ICJIA know what data they needed and they would try to get that information. Chairman Timberlake would like to know how we get the case level data aggregated from all state systems without breaching confidentiality issues and provide the information we want. The data should be used to determine that from the time of arrest to incarceration the juveniles are being provided with an assessment of human service needs. Commissioner Ander wants the data to be used for system’s accountability, planning, outcomes, viewing trends. It was noted there is always an issue with accuracy of the data collected. Commissioner Rodriguez commented that it is our responsibility to use this data to drive our programming whether it is accurate or not. Commission Franco-Payne made a motion for the Commission to meet with ICJIA separately to specifically discuss the future direction of the juvenile data. Commissioner Velasquez seconded the motion. Chairman Timberlake asked for volunteers to attend this meeting. All in favor, no abstentions. Motion approved.
There will be a statement on the website that if you want a hard copy of the report, please contact Karrie.Rueter@Illinois.gov. The copies will be housed at DHS. ICJIA will prepare a draft one-page announcement and send to Karrie Rueter for editing. This announcement can be sent out.
X. IBARJ Request:
Commissioner Crigler addressed the Commission about a request from the Illinois Balanced and Restorative Justice (IBARJ) program. IBARJ is made up of collaborations from around the state representing victim and offender advocates, the judiciary, prosecutor and defense attorneys, law enforcement, probation, corrections, schools, community and faith-based organizations. The request is for the Alton, Illinois program for $300,000. It was recommended that a formal request for funds be presented to the Planning and Grants Committee by the requesting agency. Commissioner Crigler explained she is presenting the proposal to the Commission because of timelines. Commissioner Biehl understands the urgency of the request, but stated that this is not the correct forum for the request. If the Commission addresses this request it will open itself up to unsolicited requests from everyone. Chairman Timberlake requests that the Planning and Grants consider this grant on its merits. Commissioner Hill made a motion that the Commission will not accept unsolicited proposals for funds. Twice a year, if funds are available, the Commission will put out a global RFP within the program requirements of the IJJC for funding. At that time the Commission would entertain outside non-RFP proposals. Commissioner Rodriguez seconded the motion. All in favor, no abstentions. Motion passed.
Commissioner Griffin made a motion that the IBARJ proposal presented pre-existed the rule voted on today so that it should be reviewed by the Planning and Grants Committee. Commissioner Biehl seconded the motion. Polling vote requested: Roll called. 4 No, 5 No 1 abstention. Motion failed.
XI. IJJC Committee Updates/Motions:
DMC Committee:
Commissioner Rodriguez asked that Chairman Timberlake remove some members from their committee for lack of participation. Miguel Millett will be scheduling the upcoming technical assistance meeting. The outcome of the meeting will help DMC define their scope of work and projected cost for that work. The goal is to fund someone to provide data that ICJIA cannot provide. The proposed dates are April 7, 8, 20, 21. All Commissioners are invited. There is no cost. Meeting Minutes have not been approved at the last three meetings due to a lack of quorum. Commissioner Strickland made a motion to approve the DMC minutes for October 18, 2010, January 13, 2011 and March 7, 2011. Commissioner Crigler seconded the motion. All in favor, minutes approved.
JDAI Committee:
Jeff Bradley reported that they have discussed changing the date of the JDAI meeting. It is currently set for one week following the full Commission meeting. He stated there is a proposal from the fourth circuit. It will be addressed they the JDAI committee and brought forth through the proper process. JDAI has been working with the AOIC and a committee from the Illinois Probation Courts Services Association on the statewide screening instrument. The draft Casey application for the replication efforts is out and will be edited and finalized in the next couple of weeks. Commissioners Rodriguez, Straza and Ander agreed to take part in the discussions regarding sight and sound issues. Also, Ron Smith and Dick Walsh will be assisting the JDAI committee on these topics.
BARJ Committee:
Commissioner Crigler reported that they had their first BARJ meeting. No date for next meeting at this time.
Planning & Grants Committee:
Commissioner Jacobs gave the update.The Results Based Accountability initial meeting with Phil Lee took place at the last meeting. It was a positive experience.
The Reentry Initiative and RFP development are continuing to move forward. There is information we will take from the meeting with Phil Lee and develop a proposed final language for the reentry RFP guidelines. All commissioners are always welcome to the Planning and Grants meetings.
VDISC Proposal was approved for up to $60,830 at the March 9th meeting. Commissioner Jacobs motioned to be approved by Commission. No second necessary, Committee motion. All in favor, motion approved.
Communications Committee Reports:
Commissioner Franco-Payne proposed that we move the committee reports higher on the agenda. The Communications Committee had a report prepared to present today, but there is not enough time for an informed discussion concerning data and recommendations. The recommendations may not meet the approval of all Commissioners and the Committee wants to ensure the Commission is in agreement with what they are proposing. At this time many commissioners have left the meeting. No quorum present at last Communications meeting. Commissioner Biehl moved to approve January 27, 2011 minutes. Commissioner Jacobs seconded the motion. All in favor, minutes approved.
The parole study information will be sent out one last time for comments and then finalized. Commissioner silence will be taken as approval of the proposal.
The Annual Report is being completed and will be sent to the Executive Committee for approval to submit.
Raise the Age:
It was noted that a cost benefit analysis consultant will not help at this time. Data issues exist. The report is due in December.
Executive Committee:
Youth Member Involvement:
Commissioner Biehl reported that at the last Commission meeting the issue of our youth membership was discussed. As requested, she reached out to Project NIA to figure out a way to have an effective youth force on the Commission. Mariame Kaba wrote a one page proposal that she presented at the last Executive Committee meeting. A quorum was not present. The initial proposal was for up to $10,000 to develop the youth voice on this Commission by June 30, 2011. Commissioner Biehl distributed the proposal to the members for $7,000. The proposal plans to: 1) recruit youth to serve as “members of the Commission”, 2) create a youth advisory board/council within an existing youth serving organization, 3) organize an annual youth forum, 4) develop a youth-led mini-grants initiative, and 5) bring youth in to serve as trainers for the Commission. In order to get this accomplished by June 30, she proposes to facilitate a meeting with Commissioners to discuss youth involvement by April 30, 2011 and hold two focus groups of youth by mid May and then submit a summary report to the Commission. Commissioner Hill made a motion that this proposal be funded to fulfill the Commission’s obligation. Commissioner Rodriguez seconded the motion. All in favor, no abstentions. Motion passed.
XII. Commission Programs Update:
FDLA information is in the packet of handouts. FLDA is here to present their 6 monthreport. They distributed a community contact list and a preliminary evaluation preparedby the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority on FDLA results. Staff memberswere introduced. FDLA is on target to exceed all of the numbers from last year. There isnow an Executive Director and two staff attorneys which is twice the personnel capacityas they have had in the past. Karrie said that we will be working with them to makesome adjustments to their budget to help them accommodate the changes they have made. There is a sustainability plan in place and FDLA would like to have continued funding. It would be beneficial if FDLA could provide the Commission with a detailed overview of what FDLA has accomplished since funding began. The Commission would like to determine the overall impact of FDLA concerning arrests, station adjustments, etc. Basically, does FDLA have a positive impact and is there data that supports this. It was determined that this type of information would be very difficult to compile. For example, a police stations acceptance or disregard for the program cannot be explained in data.
XIII. Second Chance Grant:
No update given, due to time constraints.
XIV. Governor’s Neighborhood Recovery Re-Entry Initiative:
No update given due to time constraints.
XV. EUDL:
No update given, due to time constraints
XVI. Other Business:
Karrie Rueter reported there are two contractual positions to be filled. One will be assigned to the Communications Committee and one to Planning and Grants. Please contact Debra McCarrel if you are interested in participating in the position interviews.
XVII. Adjournment:
Commissioner Griffin motioned to adjourn, Commissioner Jacobs seconded the motion. All in favor, meeting adjourned at 4:15pm.