Cook County Program Aims to Aid Defendants and the Bottom Line
by ADRIENNE LU | Dec 15, 2011
xxxx Lopez, 36, walked out of a Cook County courtroom Wednesday with a huge weight lifted from his shoulders.
Lopez, who was charged with felony retail theft, had his case dismissed after completing a new deferred prosecution program run by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. He was one of 32 people to finish the program, which gives certain nonviolent first-time felony offenders the chance to have their charges dismissed and allows the county to reduce spending.
Alternative sentencing and prosecution programs are flourishing nationwide, experts say, in part because budget crunches are forcing governments at all levels to reconsider the costs associated with incarceration.
In Cook County, Board President Toni Preckwinkle has championed efforts to reform the criminal justice system by reducing the populations of the jail and the juvenile detention center, for example, in an effort to both better rehabilitate people and to save money.
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said the deferred prosecution program, which began in March, is aiding the cash-strapped county.
“It’s really saving the county money because these cases aren’t going to be in the system for years and most of these offenders wouldn’t be sitting in jail anyway based on no background and based on the charge but really I believe it saves the county money,” Alvarez added. “There’s really no additional expense.”
Mark Kammerer, coordinator of alternative prosecution and sentencing programs for the state’s attorney’s office, estimates the deferred prosecution program has already saved the county at least $415,000 in court costs, including significant savings from participants waiving preliminary hearings.
Just as importantly, Kammerer said, the program offers people the opportunity to address a mistake and move on with their lives.
“It fits in with the philosophy of our office,” he said. “As long as it’s a nonviolent offense, our belief is that people really do deserve a second chance.”
Those who complete the program have their charges dismissed and may apply to have them expunged from their records. Among the eligible offenses are theft, retail theft, forgery, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, burglary, and possession of cannabis.
The program requires participants to not be arrested on felony charges or misdemeanors related to their original offense and make regular court appearances. Participants may also be required get a job or perform at least 96 hours of community service, attend school or work toward a high school equivalency degree, pay restitution and undergo treatment for drugs or alcohol abuse.
As of Nov. 30, 320 participants were enrolled in the program, Kammerer said. Some participants who fulfill the requirements of the program early can finish in nine months instead of the usual 12.
Kammerer said just under 10 percent of those who have entered the program have violated its terms in some way, such as by not showing up for court appearances or being arrested on a serious charge. Those who violate the terms of the program have their cases returned to a felony courtroom for trial.
Cook County also has a 40-year-old deferred prosecution program specifically targeting drug offenses, through which offenders can have charges dismissed after attending “drug school.” About 4,000 people entered the drug program last year, and about 3,300 graduated, Kammerer said. Those who fail drug school may be eligible for the newer program, which has stricter requirements.
Lopez said he has learned a lesson from his experience, and that he regrets what he has put his family through.
“It’s embarrassing,” Lopez said. “It’s hard to look in the mirror but looking at your family’s reaction hurts just as much. And waking up and knowing that if you don’t finish this program and you don’t put your right foot forward going forward you’re going to be in the same predicament and you don’t want to be put in a situation where you can’t get jobs, you can’t get loans or you can’t do those things…”
Experts agree that felony convictions can have lasting ramifications.
“The problem with having a felony record is it can be a lifetime punishment because you never lose that felony record, you never lose the stigma attached,” said John Maki, executive director of the John Howard Association, which tracks conditions in Illinois prisons. “For some people who commit violent crimes, that’s probably OK. But for low-level non-violent offenders, that’s not OK. We want people to be held accountable, but also to come back from it. That’s in everyone’s interest.”
Felony convictions make finding employment extremely difficult, even for those who are highly educated, said Tony Lowery, director of policy and advocacy for the Safer Foundation, which provides education, training and placement services for people in Illinois with criminal records. Lowery said felony convictions can also disqualify people from staying in federal subsidized housing programs and from receiving Pell grants, a form of federally-funded student aid. In addition, many states restrict convicted felons from voting.
“Any type of programming that will provide an alternative and will dismiss the charge is a great opportunity,” Lowery said.
Although deferred prosecution programs exist nationwide, most target nonviolent misdemeanor offenders rather than felony offenders, said Scott Burns, executive director of the National District Attorneys Association. But the programs can be controversial – last year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel raised questions about a deferred prosecution program in Milwaukee County that had offered deferred prosecution to people charged with serious violent crimes, for example.
Alvarez said Cook County does not grant deferred prosecution to those charged with violent offenses. Entrance into the Cook County program also requires the permission of any victims.
Alvarez acknowledged the irony of a prosecutor creating such a program: when she tried to push forward legislation in Springfield to allow similar programs to be created throughout Illinois, “some of the feedback we got back was it was way too progressive for a prosecutor to put forward, but we decided to just do it up here anyway and see how it works,” she said.
Erin Antonietti, one of two assistant state’s attorneys who handles deferred prosecution cases for the office, acknowledged that the deferred prosecution program is not without risk on the side of the prosecutors.
“We’re taking a chance on everyone – who knows what kind of choices they’ll make when they leave the courtroom?” Antonietti said. “We keep our fingers crossed and hope to God that they stay on the right path because they’re going to make us look bad and put themselves in trouble.”
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