Pubdate: Sun, 27 Aug 2006
Source: Peoria Journal Star (IL)
Copyright: 2006sPeoria Journal Star
Contact:  http://pjstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/338
Note: Does not publish letters from outside our circulation area.
Author: Pam Adams
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SEEPS INTO ILLINOIS PROGRAMS

The philosophy of restorative justice has seeped into a number of 
central Illinois programs through the years.

The granddaddy, Woodford County's Victim-Offender Reconciliation 
Program, shut down last year after operating more than 14 years.

Volunteer mediators guided meetings between victims and offenders in 
juvenile and criminal misdemeanor cases. The cases were referred by 
Woodford County's probation department.

Victims were becoming less willing to participate, and the bank of 
volunteer mediators was getting harder to replace, says the Rev. Don 
Littlejohn, a former Eureka College professor who helped found the program.

Knox County's teen court program, a community-based alternative to 
formal juvenile court proceedings, allows teens to act as 
prosecutors, defense attorneys, clerks, bailiffs and jurors in 
juvenile cases involving first-time offenders charged with 
misdemeaners. It was the first peer jury in the state.

In Peoria, teachers at Manual and Woodruff high schools underwent 
"peace circles" training earlier this year. Circles, adapted from 
American Indian cultures, are similar to mediation between victims 
and offenders.

However, others affected by the infraction take part in a "talking 
circle" designed to resolve problems and restore peace. The process 
also is used in juvenile court systems.

"Circles are very democratic; everyone is equal," says Sally Wolf, 
trainer and consultant with the Illinois Restorative Justice Initiative.

Everyone involved reaches an agreement about standards for conduct 
and/or how to deal with problems.

There are several other examples of restorative-based practices - and 
a variety of avenues to implement them.

"There are places where it's run by probation departments; in other 
places it's run by community groups," Wolf says. "In some places you 
can't get the police or probation departments to even look at it; 
other places, they're the ones who want to do it."

Local politics and funding can also be decisive factors in whether or 
not areas embrace restorative justice formally.

"It's a tough balancing act," says 10th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge 
John Barra.

However, he admits that drug court, which incorporates aspects of 
restorative justice, has given him some of the most rewarding moments 
of his legal career.

"Having been a prosecutor all my life, I thought I wouldn't be able 
to do it," he says. "It's not in my nature to hug someone who's done 
well, or even talk to them on a one-to-one basis."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman