Law and Justice Committee

Minutes

May 18, 2009

The Law and Justice Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Monday, May 18, 2009 @ 6:30p.m. in the DeKalb County Administration Building’s Conference Room East.  Chairman Marlene Allen called the meeting to order @ 6:32p.m.  Members present were Chairman Allen, Kevin Chambliss, and Riley Oncken. Rich Osborne was absent.  Anita Turner arrived late.  Others present were Margi Gilmour, Maureen Josh, Regina Harris, Ron Matekaitis and Elena Grimm.

In Mary Supple’s absence, Riley Oncken took the minutes of the meeting. 

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

Mr. Oncken moved to approve the minutes of the April meeting and Kevin Chambliss seconded.  The minutes were unanimously approved. 

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

Mr. Oncken moved to approve the agenda of the meeting and Mr. Chambliss seconded.  The agenda was unanimously approved.

DRUG COURT REPORT

Marilyn Stromborg gave a brief quarterly report on Drug Court.  She indicated that she would give an additional, more lengthy report when all members of the committee were present.  She spoke about the criteria for admission to the Drug Court program, the number of individuals interviewed and accepted into the program, the number of graduates, and the statistics on the drugs used and offenses committed by the individuals in the program.  Her report is included with the minutes.

Kevin Chambliss asked what the criteria is for determining if applicants have gang affiliation, a factor which would exclude them from the program.  He indicated that “gang affiliation” could be interpreted broadly and asked if there could be a program for those persons who might be loosely affiliated.  He also asked if there were statistics on the number of NIU students who had applied to Drug Court.  Marilyn Stromborg indicated that she did not have statistics for that.

COURT SERVICES ANNUAL REPORT

Margi Gilmour gave her annual report.  She highlighted that there had been a shift in her office’s strategy in dealing with offenders.  She indicated that referrals to court services were down in 2008.  She also stated that there had been an increase in the number of juveniles successfully leaving the probation system and that the number of reported violations was also down.  This was attributed to a change in office procedure and the goal of keeping violations out of the court system if possible.  There was a substantial decrease in the number of juvenile detention days in 2008, down 43% from 2007.  She attributed this to the change in strategy and focus.  Juvenile placements were up in 2008, but this number fluctuates from year to year, so it is not a significant concern.  There were no juvenile commitments to the Illinois Department of Corrections in 2008.  The number of Community Restitution Service hours ordered was also up in 2008, resulting in a value of service performed to the County of more than $300,000.00.  Her report can be found in the Court Services Department.

PUBLIC DEFENDER’S REPORT

Regina Harris gave her monthly report.  She indicated that her office, in conjunction with the State’s Attorney’s office was able to have a record-breaking month in the number of cases closed.  She attributed this to effective e-mail communication between assistant state’s attorneys and assistant public defenders.  There was also a recent shift in the type of felonies committed, making many of the cases more easily disposed of.  Kevin Chambliss asked if Ms. Harris would be willing to do a “street law” type of program at NIU to educate students, and she indicated she would like to do something like that. 

SHERIFF’S MONTHLY REPORT

Roger Scott gave his monthly report on the jail.  The jail is still full and the County is paying substantial sums to house its prisoners in Boone and other counties.  He showed the Committee an award, which the Sheriff’s Department had received from the NIU Alumni Association for their work as first responders to the NIU tragedy in 2008.  Mr. Chambliss commented that he had recently attended a local summit on racial issues and that the Sheriff’s Department was not mentioned.  He congratulated the Sheriff on the work, which his deputies had been doing and the fact that there had not been any complaints about racial issues.

ADJOURNMENT

Kevin Chambliss moved to adjourn the meeting and Riley Oncken seconded.  It was passed unanimously.  The members then toured the morgue and jail.

                                                                        Respectfully submitted,

                                                                        __________________________________

                                                                        Marlene D. Allen, Chairman

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