Announcement, Press Release |
When Xavier Smith was arrested for driving a vehicle he alleges he didn’t know was stolen, it was just the latest life-altering event to occur to the 26-year-old. Despite a childhood spent in foster care and being an unhoused adult who recently experienced the violent shooting death of his infant daughter and her mother, he vows this most recent setback has actually put him on the right track for the first time.
Smith is one of several non-violent offenders who have been offered the chance to participate in and complete the Englewood Restorative Justice Community Court (RJCC) program. Through this restorative process, staff members have helped find him a place to live, and he now has his forklift license and employable skills.
“I would recommend it,” Smith said of the RJCC. “Be patient and work with (court staff). They’re going to make sure everything is alright.”
Smith will be one of 22 young adults graduating from the Englewood Restorative Justice Community Court at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 25 at the Salvation Army Adele and Robert Stern Red Shield Center, 945 West 69th Street. The media is welcome to attend the ceremony and is asked to RSVP to ocj.press@cookcountyil.gov.
The Hon. Donna L. Cooper presides over the Englewood court, as well as the Juvenile Justice Division. She will also be expunging the records of 12 graduates during Wednesday’s ceremony.
"I, and the RJCC-Englewood, staff are happy that we've continued to make a beneficial difference in the community for the past five years,” Cooper said.
Another graduate, 28-year-old Nisha Washington, said the RJCC gave her a “second chance” after she was arrested for possessing a gun without a concealed carry license. “I’m not where I want to be, but I’m better than where I was,” Washington said.
The Englewood court opened in 2020 and is one of four restorative justice courts county wide. Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans takes great pride in the work that has produced hundreds of success stories from the Englewood program. This year, alone, has seen a total of 64 graduates emerge from the program.
“We are so proud of the success of the Englewood Restorative Justice Community Court,” Evans said. “It has helped young adults, on the South Side, turn their lives around.”
The Circuit Court of Cook County’s Restorative Justice Community Courts assist young adults, aged 18-26, charged with non-violent felony or misdemeanor crimes reintegrate into their communities. These courts resolve conflict through restorative conferences and peace circles involving participants, victims, family members, friends, others affected by the crime and the community. By focusing on healing, reconciliation and community involvement through restorative conferences and Repair of Harm Agreements, the court aims to reduce recidivism and foster genuine rehabilitation.
Participants create “vision boards” that allow them to imagine where they can be in the future. Washington said she found this particularly helpful, along with completing the repair of harm agreement.
“It really woke me up,” she said. She has a job at Sam’s Club, but is also attending classes at Malcolm X College to prepare for a career as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
More than 600 people have participated in Restorative Justice Community Courts since the first one opened in the North Lawndale neighborhood in 2017. Participants have a low recidivism rate of 13% within one year of enrollment, compared to 65% of similarly situated young people whose cases are adjudicated in traditional court proceedings, according to an internal court study.
Media Contact: ocj.press@cookcountyil.gov
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