“Fewer kids in Illinois prisons – sexual assault and other problems remain” by Patrick Yeagle
To read this article on the Illinois Times website, click here.
During the late 1980s and 1990s, Illinois’ youth prisons began filling up rapidly. The tough-on-crime approach that began in the 1960s was at the peak of popularity, and state law reflected it in mandatory minimum sentences and other provisions. From 1985 to 2000, the state’s population of incarcerated youth more than doubled, from 1,534 to 3,074.
But changes in how Illinois handles youth crime and punishment have reversed that trend, and Illinois now ranks among the top states in reducing the number of incarcerated youth. That number has dropped from 3,003 in 2001 to less than 900 at present.