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The report from court-appointed expert Dr. Louis J. Kraus on the mental health services provided in Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice facilities details several areas in need of improvement:

It’s been nearly 20 years since the Quad-City Times investigated the failing juvenile justice system in our bi-state community. For one month in 1994, the Times published daily stories disclosing poor facilities to hold kids charged with crimes; virtually no communication or record sharing among authorities on opposite sides of the river; and few prospects for improvement. So much has changed since 1994. But not juvenile justice.

Illinois received more evidence last week that incarcerating young people doesn’t rehabilitate them. Independent experts told a federal court that Illinois’ juvenile prison system operates an education program far below minimally accepted standards, does not meet the basic mental health needs of incarcerated youth and uses solitary confinement too often and for too long, with potentially damaging effects on youth who return to our communities.

Governor Pat Quinn today made key appointments to the Truancy in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Task Force which has been charged with identifying different strategies and approaches to help educators and CPS administration address the truancy problems in the City of Chicago. Today’s action is part of Governor Quinn’s agenda to prepare every child for success in college, career and beyond.

A new report from the prison watchdog John Howard Association says mental health treatment in Illinois youth prisons is so bad that judges need to stop sending kids with mental health needs to them. The scathing report was released on Thursday. It is the latest in a series of studies that are highly critical of the care and education within the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice.

After hearing about the Chicago shooting last week in which 13 were injured in Cornell Square Park, including a three-year-old, I and writer Mikki Kendall, both Chicago residents, had very different reactions. It’s "not just the park incident," Kendall told me by email. "20 people were shot this weekend. People are being shot almost daily. And I have a 14 year-old son who can't go to the McDonald's in Hyde Park at lunch because the school has noticed an uptick in crime at that location." I was depressed and horrified, too — but depressed and horrified in the way that you are when you hear about gun violence anywhere. Unlike Kendall, I wasn't directly concerned about the safety of my family.