Restorative Justice Community Courts (RJCC) in Cook County are seeing renewed attention after State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke directed her office to begin referring qualifying cases back to these courts. The RJCCs are designed for young adults between 18 and 26 who have been charged with nonviolent felonies or misdemeanors and do not have a violent criminal record.
These courts use community-based strategies such as peace circles, which bring together those involved in a crime to discuss harm caused and develop agreements that may include community service, restitution, or counseling. The process focuses on accountability rather than punishment, aiming to prevent repeat offenses.
Participation requires the victim’s agreement and the person charged must live, work, or worship in one of the neighborhoods served by an RJCC. After completing the roughly 18-month process, participants can have their charges dismissed and records expunged.
“The RJCC’s goal is to ‘end the harmful cycle of revenge and recidivism.’”
Cook County opened its first RJCC in North Lawndale in 2017. Two more were established in Avondale and Englewood in 2020, with a fourth added in Sauk Village in 2024.
Last year, O’Neill Burke halted referrals to RJCCs, opting instead for prosecution through traditional criminal courts. This led to a significant reduction in cases handled by restorative justice courts. According to Chicago Appleseed, gun possession cases accounted for about 83% of all diverted cases at the RJCCs during 2024.
Advocates raised concerns about this change since many people facing nonviolent gun charges remained detained before trial. In Illinois, after cash bail was eliminated, around 62% of individuals charged with nonviolent gun crimes were held while awaiting trial.
Now that referrals are resuming, there will be changes for gun possession cases: instead of peace circles involving both victims and offenders along with community members, these cases will use restorative practice conferences focused on firearm safety education and legal ownership requirements such as obtaining a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card. Other types of cases will continue using peace circles.
As reported by WTTW, five eligible gun possession cases had been routed back to RJCC since January 5 when the program restarted.
Those interested can participate further by attending court watching training sessions organized by Documenters; details are available at docs.org.
