NCJ Number
188406
Date Published
April 2001
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study found that Illinois' 16-year experiment with automatic transfer of juveniles to criminal court for drug offenses did not affect suburban or rural white youth in a way even remotely comparable to urban minority youth.
Abstract
Starting in 1985, a series of laws enacted by the Illinois legislature radically altered the way in which youth charged with drug offenses would be handled by the State courts. The Safe School Zone Act of 1985 required that 15- and 16-year-olds charged with delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school would be tried in adult court. In 1987 lawmakers melded the school zone law with the Juvenile Court Act, in effect making the delivery of a controlled substance near a school an "aggravating" factor. In 1989 the legislature voted to apply the "safe zones" to public housing developments as well. Schools and public housing developments are more concentrated in Chicago than in suburban Cook County, making city juveniles more likely to be caught selling drugs within a 1,000-foot radius of those facilities. Nationwide, illicit drug use was higher among white youth than among African-Americans or Latinos; minority youth, however, were more often arrested and charged with drug crimes. It was clear that the enormous impact of prosecution, imprisonment, and collateral consequences for young drug offenders was not borne equitably by youth of different races and ethnicities. Cook County's African-American and Latino youth populations were virtually singled out for arrest, detention, and punishment for drug sales, even though data showed that white youth in the State were just as likely, if not more likely, to sell and use illegal drugs. 4 figures and 22 notes