A jury of their peers
By Jeanne Millsap - Herald Correspondent
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| Members of the peer jury, pictured with Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow, back left, and Grundy County State's Attorney Sheldon Solbol, right, are Alexandrea Brown, Hannah Buchanan, Kevin Caudill, Jacey Daniels, Nicole Eberhard, Matt Engel, Brianna Franzen, Felicia Gramm, Chase Hermann, Madison Leatherwood, Alexa Maffei, Nick Michalik, Justin Miner, Courtney Powers, Kyra Salamon, Justin Schubert, Megan Singletary, and Kimber Winchester. |
CHANNAHON – Three young men might not have been thinking about the consequences of their actions when they recently vandalized property in the village.
They also probably thought they wouldn’t be caught, but they were.
The good news is that the minors did not get thrown into the juvenile justice system. They will not go before the courts and will not have the incident on their records.
This time, that is.
The boys were the first “referred teens” chosen to participate in the Channahon Police Department’s new Peer Jury Process, where first-time, non-violent minors may go before a "jury” of their peers for a hearing and, possibly, a restorative agreement.
The purpose of peer juries is not to punish. The system is designed to restore justice, sometimes bringing together victim and offender.
Channahon’s first peer jury hearing was held Tuesday evening.
“It went very well,” Channahon Police Chief Joe Pena said the following day. “The concept is for young people to hold their peers accountable for their behavior.
"Sometimes young people lack the ability to make good, solid choices. It’s important for us to help young people make the right choices and, when they don’t, they can go through the peer jury process and stand up and be held accountable for their behavior.”
Pena said he has seen the peer jury system work for juveniles who might have just made a stupid mistake.
When he was chief of police in East Dundee, Pena began a peer court system that incorporated five communities. It worked out very well, he said, and reduced the recidivism rate of juvenile offenders
“It went even better than expected,” Channahon Village Clerk Missy Schumacher said of Channahon’s first peer jury this week. “We were so pleased. They exceeded our expectations.”
Schumacher helped Pena organize the peer jury system in the village, as did Detective Adam Bogart and Will County State's Attorney's Office victim advocate, Lauren Thomas. All three are now adult moderators in the program.
Schumacher said peer jurists were sought from Channahon Junior High, Minooka Junior High, and Minooka Community High School. There are 19 student volunteers who were trained in Channahon and by an established peer jury system out of the Homewood and Flossmoor police departments.
Peer jury programs became popular in the south suburbs initially because of a huge overload in the juvenile justice system, requiring offenders to wait for court appearances sometimes for months.
The programs flourished there because of the positive outcomes.
Channahon’s teen jurors this week held three hearings, one for each of the three juvenile vandals, and had each one tell his story. They then asked questions such as, “What’s going on in your life right now?” and “Why did you do this?”
They also asked about their friends and what they did in their free time and for extracurricular activities. The victims were free to attend, but they did not. They did, however, submit a letter – called a victim impact statement – that was read to the juveniles.
After a few minutes, the juveniles, also called the referred teens, were escorted out of the room, and the teen jurors discussed the cases one by one.
The jurors then decided on “appropriate consequences” and wrote up an agreement. Consequences can include reparations for actions done, community service, and letters of apology to the victims, among other choices.
Schumacher said there are several agencies and organizations in the area that have agreed to allow the teens to serve community service with them if needed. In 30 to 60 days, the referred teens will return to the peer jury for a discharge hearing.
“The goal is to give the teen a way to restore their standing in the community,” Schumacher said, “and to take responsibility for their actions and develop positive skills to make better choices. . . The alternative is the court system, which is punitive. It does nothing to repair the crime. This system gives the teens and their victims a voice.”
The teen jurors appeared before the Channahon Village Board this week, and Village President Joe Cook thanked them for doing their civic duty. He said he believes the program will serve as a model for other communities.
Tuesday, before the first hearings, Grundy County State's Attorney Sheldon Sobol and Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow were present to speak to the teen jurors, along with Cook, Pena, and the adult moderators.
Members of the peer jury are Alexandrea Brown, Hannah Buchanan, Kevin Caudill, Jacey Daniels, Nicole Eberhard, Matt Engel, Brianna Franzen, Felicia Gramm, Chase Hermann, Madison Leatherwood, Alexa Maffei, Nick Michalik, Justin Miner, Courtney Powers, Kyra Salamon, Justin Schubert, Megan Singletary, and Kimber Winchester.
