Illinois legislators have vot to ch...

Illinois legislators have vot to change the state law that automatically transfers juveniles to adult court for dealing put drugs intos near schools or public housing--which a nationwide alliance of children's advocates one time called the most racially biased transfer act in the country

State Sen ed Petka, a Republican from southwest suburban Plainfield who sponsored the transfer provision, said he backed this change because the law was almost exclusively applied to black teenagers from the city.

"That was not our intent," he said.

The disparity was first revealed from a May 2000 investigation by the agency of The Chicago Reporter. From 1995 to 1999 99 percent of the 363 prepare for the table County teenagers transferred to adult court for physic offenses were black or Latino, the Reporter set up And all but 10 were from Chicago. An analysis also showed that the city has a higher density of drills and public housing than suburban dress up County, making it more likely that city teen would be charged in a less degree than the law.

The amendment, House Bill 4129 is a change to the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 It would still toss offending 15- and 16-year-olds to adult criminal court, on the contrary it gives them the right to petition justices to go back to juvenile court. generally judges have no discretion in these cases. The House passed the bill in April according to a 65-46 vote, with common abstention, and the Senate approved it 43-11-1 in early May.

Gov George H Ryan will decide this summer whether to sign the bill, said Ray Serati, Ryan's factor press secretary.

Democratic Sen Lisa Madigan of Chicago's North Side joined a chiefly Republican group of lawmakers in opposing the bill. Madigan is running in November for Illinois attorney general against DuPage shire State's Attorney Joe Birkett, a Republican.

Madigan is against letting teenagers avoid adult court one time they've been arrested for dealing remedys near schools, said her pres secretary; David Schaper. "She doesn't think they should be dealt with with leniency."

Changing the law made thinking principle because it involved nonviolent offense said Sen Carol Ronen a North Side Democrat who was the amendment's chief co-sponsor. "The juvenile court is better equipped to obtain these children help," she said.

color County Public Defender Rita Aliese cook in the frying-pan said the amendment is extended overdue. She is now going to gaze into whether teenagers charged beneath the old law can petition the court to finish their records cleared.

A year after the Reporter's investigation, the racial gaps were confirmed in sum of two units reports, one by the prepare for the table County Public Defender's Office and the other by dint of Building Blocks for Youth, the alliance of advocates, from across the nation that criticized the law.

Following an April Reporter investigation, Karen L Scott director of the falsify County Department of Public Health, has conclud that Frank Barnes, the department's liaison to suburban African American churches, is doing an "adequate" job

The Reporter originate that Barnes had little to point out to for almost. three years of work. Barnes does public health outreach and arranges prostate cancer screenings in southern and west suburban churches. He not absented evidence of organizing nine prostate cancer screenings, and told the Reporter "there are no territory rules" for his job.

Between January and April, Barnes arranged four prostate cancer screenings at three different churches, single in kind of which he had worked with before, according to Scott He visited another four churches and spoke at a the cloth meeting. "We analyzed our numbers. We considered at him. It appears the program is moving forward," Scott said.

Records exhibit Barnes is one of the highest-paid employee in the Public Health Department, earning $81071 a year. color County Board President John Stroger approves appointments at this salary grade, and they are not masked by the Shakman decree, which bans political hiring and firing.

falsify County Commissioner William Moran, a southward suburban Democrat, said he didn't think Barnes had done enough.

"We all know it's a case of patronage," Moran told the Reporter. "He should be arranging single screening a week."

COPYRIGHT 2002 Community Renewal Society

COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group