A new criminal justice reform law, signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner March 10, recognizes that both victims and incarcerated offenders suffer from a common circumstance — a reaction to trauma.

Trauma’s effects on the brain can lead to “a greater propensity to fight rather than flee, a greater propensity to perceive a threat where there is none, and a reduced executive function,” said a 2016 final report from the Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform. The bi-partisan group was appointed by Rauner to reduce the Illinois incarceration rate by 25 percent by 2025.

“Unaddressed trauma has been an invisible barrier to recovery for victims of crime,” said Lenore Anderson of the California-based Alliance for Safety and Justice at a press conference in Chicago. “[The effects of trauma] cause debilitating and often destabilizing realities that get in the way of economic recovery, family stability and physical and mental health.”

The new Neighborhood Safety Act, SB2872 would expand help for crime victims who may suffer from “acute trauma” and fear of being re-victimized. The act also provides help for incarcerated persons or court-involved young people living in “chronic trauma” caused by an environment with high levels of violence, or experiences in prison.

The Chicago-based Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) will administer grants for “trauma recovery” programs serving both victims and those re-entering society after prison. Services may include “behavioral health treatment, financial recovery, family support and relocation assistance, and support in navigating the legal system,” the act says. The act also updates how the Illinois Department of Corrections evaluates prison time-off for good behavior and gives judges more parole options for Class 2 felonies. Class 2 felonies include possession of large amounts of marijuana and thefts under $1,000. They typically have minimum sentences between three-to-seven years.

“This is the most comprehensive, impactful reform that Illinois has enacted to date and it’s put together in the right way,” said John Maki, ICJIA executive director. ICJIA already manages $6 million in federal grant money targeted for victim assistance, according to the agency’s website.

For State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria), the bill has been a “labor of love,” she said. Gordon-Booth’s stepson, Derrick Gordon, Jr., 22, was shot and killed in Peoria in 2014.

“Families all across Chicago and the state are dealing with violence in their community. We lost our son DJ to gun violence. Losing a 22-year-old in such a senseless way, there is no solitude that you get from that,” Gordon-Booth said. The new law’s special focus on victims and survivors and “making their lives whole after traumatic experiences will have such a transformative impact,” she said.

Senate Sponsor Kwame Raul (D-Chicago) commended his fellow legislators, the commission and the Governor for taking on criminal justice reform.

“Criminal justice reform ain’t easy work. It takes a lot of courage,” he said. “Traditionally the approach to criminal justice has been just pile-on penalties, and that failed approach has not improved public safety.”

“This is a good day for the people of Illinois,” said Rauner. who thanked police departments and law enforcement agencies across the state for supporting the bill.

The Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform made 27 recommendations aimed at both the intake and output ends of the Illinois criminal justice machine. Statewide specialty courts and sentencing diversion aim to keep non-violent offenders with mental health or substance abuse problems from being warehoused in the prison system. The new Neighborhood Safety Act gives more support for persons exiting the Illinois Department of Corrections.

But political realities may get in the way of the new law. Many Illinois not-for-profit agencies providing therapy services for diversion from the criminal justice system are at the mercy of the state budget impasse and haven’t been paid for 18 months.

“Frankly it’s been a bumpy road,” said Rockford-based Judge Janet Holmgren, in a 2016 interview.

Holmgren presides over the Winnebago County Therapeutic Intervention Program court (TIP), a problem-solving court for defendants with severe mental health problems.

“We are trying to line [participants] up with treatment based on their insurance, and sometimes our treatment providers aren’t being paid by the state.” Additionally, many participants have insurance through the Affordable Care Act, which may be repealed by Congressional Republicans under President Donald Trump’s administration.

But lawmakers hoped that the new focus on “trauma recovery” programs would help stop the “revolving door” of incarceration.

“Most individuals in the Dept. of Correction are coming home,” said Gordon-Booth. “This program helps them after they’re incarcerated and supports them so they are actually rehabilitated. [The program] is truly transforming communities that are the most harmed but the least served.”

 

 

 

 

— New Illinois criminal justice law looks at trauma in victims, offenders —