By: Ashmar Mandou

On the eve of Halloween, former detained youth, parents, ministers, and members of Blocks Together, BUILD Inc., and Community Justice Institute for Youth, among others, dressed in prison jumpsuits as part of their ‘Trick or Treat’ campaign to demand reinvestments in alternatives to detention during a budget hearing inside the Cook County Building.

Youth and community advocates pushed for Cook County Commissioners during the County budget hearing to allocate funds away from the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) and invest those funds in ‘high-quality’ community-based education and social services, such as athletics and arts programs, as well as mental health care and safe shelter.

“The County is investing over $40 million a year to detain young people. That’s a bad investment and a bad budget decision,” said Darrius Lightfoot of the Audy Home Campaign and the Juvenile Advisory Council. “Instead, they should be spending taxpayer dollars to keep youth out of prison and engaged in their communities.” The Audy Home Campaign is a coalition of community organizations troubled over the direction of the juvenile justice system in Cook County. The coalition includes Blocks Together, BUILD Inc., Center of Change, Community Justice Institute for Youth, Fearless Leading by the Youth, Precious Blood Ministry of Peace and Reconciliation and the Institute on Public Safety and Social Justice at the Adler School of Psychology.

During Tuesday’s hearing, some youth dressed in business attire while others wore prison uniforms to demonstrate the choices Cook County Commissioners are making about the future of Chicago youth in their budget decisions. “Youth need mentorship and job training, not to be locked up,” said Lightfoot. “Community alternatives to detention could be the key to reducing youth violence and youth crime, but it requires investing in our youth.”

In the past year, the County reduced the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center population by 50, according to the Audy Home Campaign. This year, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle assured JTDC’s population will shrink even more by implementing more community resource for troubled youth. In the meantime, youth urged that the 2013 juvenile justice budget reflect more youth-oriented programs rather than invest in more ‘ankle bracelets,’ as one teen voiced.