The first juvenile court system in the US founded in Illinois in 1899. It was originally developed to be rehabilitative rather than punitive. It protected the confidentiality of minor defendants and required separation of youth from adults at the same institution.
IYC-Pere Marquette was initially constructed in 1932 as a cattle farm, by Harry Hill Ferguson. When Mr. Ferguson died in 1943, he left the property to the state of Illinois. In 1961 the property was transferred to the Illinois Youth Commission to be used as a Forestry Camp. In 1981, it was adopted under the Illinois Department of Corrections as a male juvenile correctional institution, known as the Illinois Youth Center - Pere Marquette.
The Illinois juvenile system disbanded and combined with adult prison system into the Illinois Department of Corrections, Juvenile Division. Youth were housed separately from adults, and the Illinois Department of Corrections of the 1970s and 1980s remained more rehabilitation-oriented for both youth and adults than it became in later years.
IYC-Harrisburg was established.
The federal crime bill(s) were passed.
Legislators and advocates began calling for Illinois to separate its juvenile corrections from the adult department (as originally intended in 1899).
Governor Blagojevich proposed closing the Illinois Youth Center-St. Charles. At the time, the St. Charles Illinois Youth Center was the 8th largest employer in St. Charles with 327 employees. The closing was never carried out.
In 2006, Illinois created the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) as a stand-alone agency, separating it from the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), which had become an exceptionally harsh environment for youth, devoid of programming and ineffective at rehabilitation. IDJJ was established in order to restore – and advance – the original rehabilitative purpose of juvenile court, by addressing youth-specific needs. There were 8 youth prisons at this time.
2012 was a big year for youth justice advocates. IYC-Murphysboro closed (though it was later reopened by IDOC as a reentry facility in 2018). Also in 2012, multiple lawsuits were filed against IDJJ. The MacArthur Justice Center and the Uptown People’s Law Center filed a class action lawsuit (M.H. v. Findley - formerly M.H. v. Monreal) against IDJJ, in the wake of insufficient state response to the findings in the Youth Reentry Improvement Report from 2011.
The ACLU of Illinois also filed a class action lawsuit against IDJJ, R.J. v. Bishop (now R.J. v. Mueller), which alleged that deficiencies in the conditions, services, and treatment of youth throughout IDJJ amounted to a violation of Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Rather than litigating the case, IDJJ and the ACLU of Illinois entered into a consent decree in December 2012, and the court shortly afterwards approved a remedial plan that required IDJJ to improve its education and mental health services, decrease staff to youth ratios, and prohibited the use of solitary confinement as a disciplinary tool. This consent decree is still active and subject to ongoing supervision in federal district court.
IDJJ Operating Plan was developed - the first comprehensive planning document since IDJJ’s founding. The Plan resolved IDJJ to: reduce the use of secure custody for “low-risk” youth; improve programs to meet the needs of “high-risk” youth; improve programs to ensure successful reentry; create a safe and respectful environment for youth and staff; and increase transparency and accountability.
Illinois Youth Center (IYC) - St. Charles (formerly St. Charles Boys’ Home) was built in 1902, and opened in 1904. Conceived as a rural rehabilitation center on a working farm, state hearings regarding concerns over racial disparities, institutional abuse, and safety issues go at least as far back as the 1930s. The farm was phased out in 1970 and a confinement wing was added in 1989.
The Omnibus Crime Control & Safe Streets Act was passed.
IYC-Warrenville was established.
The Illinois Juvenile Court Act was passed.
IYC-Chicago was established.
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was passed.
Governor Blagojevich signed the Department of Juvenile Justice Law. The bill passed both chambers with strong bipartisan leadership and support. Initial bill effort was led by Legislative Black Caucus.
Following the suicides of two youth (at IYC-Kewanee in 2008 and IYC-St. Charles in 2009), IDJJ requested an external review of its mental health services by the MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change.
Also in 2008, the Second Chance Act passed. The bill authorized up to $165 million in federal grants to state, local, and tribal government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Gives mentoring grants to religious and nonprofit agencies in hopes to reduce recidivism rates. The Second Chance Act represented a federal investment in strategies to reduce recidivism and increase public safety, as well as to reduce corrections costs for state and local governments.
IYC-Joliet closed in 2015. It was reopened by IDOC as a residential treatment center in 2019.
IYC-Kewanee was closed and converted into an IDOC adult prison.