Renovations are underway at the Lincoln Development Center in Lincoln. State officials say after being closed for nearly a decade, the future Illinois Youth Center.
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The Pritzker administration has announced a new center for incarcerated youth is coming to central Illinois.
The Illinois Youth Center will be at the site of a previously shuttered Lincoln Developmental Center in Lincoln. It’s part of a broader plan within the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) to reduce the harm of juvenile incarceration, using a community-based, rehabilitative, and restorative model.
About 40% of youths committed to IDJJ come from central Illinois.
“So all of the kids who come from that area are housed either far north in the state, near Chicago, or in the far southern part of the state. They’re housed several hours away from their families,” said Heidi Mueller, director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration announced the planned opening of a new center for incarcerated youth in central Illinois Tuesday, the latest step in a
SPRINGFIELDÂ â Gov. J.B. Pritzkerâs administration announced the planned opening of a new center for incarcerated youth in central Illinois on Tuesday, the latest step in a plan to reform the stateâs juvenile justice system.
The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice is establishing an Illinois Youth Center in the city of Lincoln in Logan County. The facility will be part of the stateâs ongoing effort to secure incarcerated juveniles in smaller dorm-like facilities based on community, rehabilitation and restorative justice, rather than only detention.
Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton unveiled their overhaul of the juvenile justice system last July. The four-year plan, called the â21st Century Illinois Transformation Model,â is split into three phases. Execution of the plan is the purview of the Justice, Equity and Opportunity Initiative that operates out of Strattonâs office.