Kelly Garcia

Yes, it was before Judge Kenneth Wadas

Kevin Walker was acquitted on charges of aggravated battery and official misconduct today. In handing down the verdict, Judge Kenneth Wadas said the state didn’t meet its burden.

Story tk.

Update: Due to a scheduling issue, trial was postponed to tomorrow at 10 am. Keep checking back for updates. @injusticewatch.org

And if you have any questions/comments/tips, please reach out. I'm also on signal! kgarci25.49

Rare criminal trial of former Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center employee expected to start Thursday The former Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center employee is charged with two felonies for allegedly throwing a boy to the ground.

The trial will take place in courtroom 502 at the Criminal Courthouse on 26/Cal. It's scheduled for 9 a.m. but it may not start on time. I'll come back tomorrow to share updates. But in the meantime, read our story for what to expect:

www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...

Tomorrow's trial will hopefully shed some light on that.

Prosecutors will also likely introduce video footage of the alleged incident from a surveillance camera and a body-worn camera from the other Rover.

I was also able to obtain some records that give us a glimpse into Walker's history at the JTDC, but without a personnel file we don't know if he's ever been disciplined prior to the alleged incident he's being tried for.

The Chief Judge's office wouldn't provide it despite multiple requests.

JTDC Incident Report - 12.14.23 Redacted

We were also able to get internal reports from the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, which conducts annual inspections of the JTDC. Like us, you may notice that some of the reports conflict with each other AND with the police report.

www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Chicago Police Department incident report - Redacted

As you'll see in our story, we were able to get some records about the alleged incident from other public agencies. Below you'll find the police report which we embedded in the story. CPD denied our request for additional records, citing a judge's order.
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

That's why this story matters. Not only is it the first time in more than a decade an employee is facing charges for allegedly harming a child at the JTDC... but it's also the first time the public may finally get to see footage from the surveillance cameras inside.

In Illinois, juvenile detention centers are exempt from FOIA meaning the public can't access employee disciplinary records, confinement data, and policy manuals.

As my editor @jonahshai.bsky.social once put it, it's much harder to get information about the youth jail than it is about the adult jail

Rare criminal trial of former Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center employee expected to start Thursday Key takeaways from this investigation A former rapid response team specialist at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center is facing felony

NEW: For decades, allegations of abuse and misconduct have swirled around Chicago’s juvenile detention center. On Thursday, a Cook County judge will begin proceedings in a rare trial of a former employee accused of physically harming a child at the facility.

Rare criminal trial of former Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center employee expected to start Thursday Key takeaways from this investigation A former rapid response team specialist at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center is facing felony

A former employee of the Cook County juvenile detention center is facing charges after allegedly throwing a handcuffed 15-year-old boy to the ground, causing the youth to lose consciousness and suffer “visible bruising.”

His criminal trial starts tomorrow.
www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...

Kristi Noem inside the ICE facility at 1930 Beach St. in Broadview, IL. She is standing near a white man, smiling at a desk with a computer monitor and printer. Behind her is a cell door with a man looking out a narrow slit window. Next to him, three or four other men are seen through a larger window in the cell. Behind the white man are two upside down "demo bags" taped up over the windows to another cell.

This is from a video on X, showing inside the Broadview ICE facility when Noem was in town on Fri.

For context, she's in the central room with 15 workstations setup to process detained individuals, whether they were arrested by immigration enforcement or at protests.

See the orange triangles?

Those 34 years would have been 26 years if the Cook County Conviction Integrity Unit had cleared Francisco Benitez instead of denying him in 2015. He's one of at least 21 people the group rejected who were later exonerated. You can read about it in my @injusticewatch.org series Denying Innocence.

As a final update, Chapin Hall's current contract ended June 30 which means they will no longer be analyzing and publishing monthly reports on the use of confinement. Those reports will now be prepared by the Office of the Chief Judge.

Superintendent of Chicago’s youth jail might not live here, records show Leonard Dixon has run the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center — one of the largest youth jails in the country — for a decade. Records and interviews suggest he might not live in Chicago an...

As the meeting wraps up, Commissioner Degnen asks about Superintendent Leonard Dixon — whose presence at the facility we raised questions about.

Deputy Superintendent William Steward says Dixon is present at the facility everyday, "boots on the ground."

www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...

For the secure center of care, Chapin Hall says they will wait to meet with the new Chief Judge before developing those plans.

Chapin Hall is also developing secure and non-secure "centers of care." The non-secure model will include two facilities, one operated by DCFS/DCFS-licensed providers and the other operated by OCJ using the county shelter care standards. A bidding process is underway for the DCFS-licensed facility.

Moving along. Chapin Hall says they have convened a work group to design the new "assessment centers". The working group includes members from the JTDC, OCJ, State's Attorney's Office, Public Defender's Office, etc.

The assessment center(s?) will act as a screening tool to determine placement

There's a question about how the job of an employee at the juvenile detention center (secure setting) will translate to a job at a non-secure setting. Chapin Hall says job descriptions for the positions at the Suara Center are still being developed but will include a trauma-informed approach.

Before those plans are implemented, the board will need to vote on an amended contract with the Suara Center. Commissioner Degnen says there are lingering questions she would need answers to before she can vote on that including the breakdown of staff, clarity on which youth will be held there etc

Current JTDC employees will be able to apply for open positions at the Suara Center once the shared model is implemented but there is no guarantee they will be hired.

Heartland Alliance will be responsible for food and health services, while OCJ will be responsible for programming.

The Suara Center is currently under renovation and isn't holding any youth, but currently the facility is staffed and managed by Heartland Alliance. The plan is to move towards a shared model in which Heartland Alliance and the Office of the Chief Judge staff & manage the facility.

There is some back and forth about the definition of secure/non-secure settings and whether the county anticipates using private vendors to operate those facilities. For example, the Suara Center is a DCFS-licensed facility that currently operates as a non-secure facility for court-involved youth.

Degnen asks about the cooperation between the county and external vendors as it relates to the operation of the tentative "centers of care". Turpeau says the smaller centers are expected to be overseen and operated by the Office of the Chief Judge.

One big lingering question is how the county plans to continue or discontinue the use of confinement at the new facilities. Commissioner Bridget Degnen, asks for clarification from JTDC staff.

"We don't use behavioral room confinement for discipline," says JTDC team leader Michael Fowlin.

For updates on the plan, we'll be hearing from Chapin Hall which has a contract with the county to consult and provide technical assistance for reimagining juvenile detention. Antwan Turpeau, a policy fellow, says they recently completed a framework with input from various stakeholders.

The Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center Advisory Board meeting (so many words...) is underway at 69 W. Washington. On the agenda: updates on plans to "reimagine" the facility.

I'll be live-tweeting so make sure to follow along 👇 @injusticewatch.org

Bumping again--I'm back full time starting today. Am especially interested in hearing from unhoused people and advocates in Chicago who have been impacted by ICE and the now-looming National Guard deployment in our city. Signal is katie.507.