Illinois officials are reacting to these reports. Some believe they violate a court order requiring the juvenile justice system to focus on rehabilitation.
Although youth center employees have the right to seek criminal charges against detainees, they generally don’t. At least, they don’t as frequently as the Harrisburg guards do. Since 2015, more charges came from Harrisburg than the other four Illinois youth centers combined. Adjusting data to account for number of residents or number of staff assaults handled without involving the courts makes Harrisburg’s guards look even more snowflake-y.
That’s not the only issue Harrisburg guards face. Nine out of ten are white. But two-thirds of detainees are black. The guards are local to the small town and many of their charges come from Chicago. That, however, isn’t the portrayal presented by the American Civil Liberties Union’s narrative.
The ACLU calls the cases a “deliberate and concerted attack” on reform efforts. It accuses Harrisburg staff of creating an “alternative” prison system to drive “trivial” cases.
