RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SEEPS INTO ILLINOIS PROGRAMS

The philosophy of restorative justice has seeped into a number of
central Illinois programs through the years.

The granddaddy, Woodford County's Victim-Offender Reconciliation
Program, shut down last year after operating more than 14 years.

Volunteer mediators guided meetings between victims and offenders in
juvenile and criminal misdemeanor cases. The cases were referred by
Woodford County's probation department.

Victims were becoming less willing to participate, and the bank of
volunteer mediators was getting harder to replace, says the Rev. Don
Littlejohn, a former Eureka College professor who helped found the program.

Knox County's teen court program, a community-based alternative to
formal juvenile court proceedings, allows teens to act as
prosecutors, defense attorneys, clerks, bailiffs and jurors in
juvenile cases involving first-time offenders charged with
misdemeaners. It was the first peer jury in the state.

In Peoria, teachers at Manual and Woodruff high schools underwent
"peace circles" training earlier this year. Circles, adapted from
American Indian cultures, are similar to mediation between victims
and offenders.

However, others affected by the infraction take part in a "talking
circle" designed to resolve problems and restore peace. The process
also is used in juvenile court systems.

"Circles are very democratic; everyone is equal," says Sally Wolf,
trainer and consultant with the Illinois Restorative Justice Initiative.

Everyone involved reaches an agreement about standards for conduct
and/or how to deal with problems.

There are several other examples of restorative-based practices - and
a variety of avenues to implement them.

"There are places where it's run by probation departments; in other
places it's run by community groups," Wolf says. "In some places you
can't get the police or probation departments to even look at it;
other places, they're the ones who want to do it."

Local politics and funding can also be decisive factors in whether or
not areas embrace restorative justice formally.

"It's a tough balancing act," says 10th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge
John Barra.

However, he admits that drug court, which incorporates aspects of
restorative justice, has given him some of the most rewarding moments
of his legal career.

"Having been a prosecutor all my life, I thought I wouldn't be able
to do it," he says. "It's not in my nature to hug someone who's done
well, or even talk to them on a one-to-one basis."