Cook County Juvenile Judge Colleen Sheehan is pushing a plan to establish a series of alternative "restorative justice" courts in Chicago that she hopes will become a model system for the state.
Speaking on GLT's "Sound Ideas," Sheehan said the restorative justice courts would be located in communities where many juvenile crimes occur. The model focuses on having teens take responsibility for their actions and make reparation.
"It seeks answers to why someone has done something. If you know why someone has done something, then you can go about changing behavior," the judge said.
Sheehan said restorative justice courts bring the victims and perpetrators of a crime together with community members to work out a plan for reparation. The courts would initially focus on non-violent crimes.
Chicago is facing a 70 percent increase in gun violence this year, much of it stemming from juveniles and young adults who are gang members. Sheehan said the courts need to seek innovative ways to stem the violence, since current methods are not working well enough.
She said there should be greater opportunity for informal contact between at-risk teens and the Chicago police. As a jurist, she has arranged for "peace circles" as well as days of informal activities to take place between officers and juveniles who have been in her courtroom.
"There were police officers who said they were sorry, there were children who said they were sorry. There were real connections going on," Sheehan said.
Sheehan also sponsored a photography contest for police and youth called "Bridging the Divide," in which she challenged officers and teens to photograph positive images of life in some of Chicago's most troubled neighborhoods.
Mother's Day weekend in Chicago was one of the most violent in recent months, with more than 50 shootings.