SO MUCH TALK, SO LITTLE CHANGE

So after nearly a year of intense scrutiny on problems at Cook
County's youth detention center, a host of independent reports about
the terrible conditions for kids, and repeated federal court
hearings, the result is ... (deep breath) ... little change.

The Cook County Board on Tuesday approved a court agreement that
would bring in yet another team of professionals to diagnose problems
at the center. That team will, in 60 days, write an aggressive
prescription to fix the place. Then an independent compliance czar
will move into the center for at least six months to become, if he or
she is doing the job right, the most unpopular person in the
building. A handful of monitors will help ensure the center's 500
employees follow the plan.

A federal judge overseeing the class-action suit between the county
and the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents youth at the
center, is expected to approve the agreement Thursday.

We'll hope for the best with this latest settlement. We're encouraged
that this highly respected team of four juvenile-detention experts
from around the country will provide greater scrutiny and a clear
road map toward reform.

But the wholesale cultural change needed inside the center is still a
long shot under this agreement. Reform team members will have
authority to make recommendations, such as who needs to be replaced,
but they'll need a judge's order to enforce them. And so far, U.S.
District Judge John Nordberg, who oversees the settlement, has shown
a persistent unwillingness to impose the court's authority. Let's
hope his reticence melts.

Only one person has the power to fundamentally improve the experience
of the more than 6,000 youths who pass through the detention center's
doors each year: the Cook County Board president.

Given President John Stroger's frail health, it seems likely that he
will step aside and Cook County will have a new leader by next year.

Here's our plea for the next president: Turn the operation of the
juvenile center over to real professionals, people who get their jobs
not because they work for a ward organization, but because they want
to work and know how to work with challenging kids. Hire people who
share a vision that juvenile detention can be a critical intervention
point in the life of a troubled child.

The next president shouldn't simply comply with a plan of reform--he
should lead a dramatic transformation of the facility that goes
beyond any court order. That will save him a lot of grief down the
road, and help a generation of kids.