A RESOLUTION TO CALL FOR A CITY, COUNTY, AND STATE TASK FORCE TO REDUCE
RECIDIVISM
WHEREAS, there is a disproportionate number of people living with mental illness who are arrested in the City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Cook County Jail has been reported as an institution housing the highest number of people with mental illness in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the Illinois Department of Corrections also reports high rates of recidivism, with forty-eight percent of adult inmates and fifty-four percent of juveniles released from incarceration returning within three years, only to perpetuate a vicious and costly cycle of recidivism; and
WHEREAS, studies from the Center For Evidence-Based Practices also report higher rates of jail recidivism among people with co-occurring severe, mental illness and substance use, disorders; and
WHEREAS, some people with severe mental illness are released from incarceration with no : official identification in hand, no source of income or funds in place, no support system in place, no immediate access to psychotropic medications, and no housing in place; and .
WHEREAS, without needed resources and a plan of care in place, people with severe mental illness who are released from incarceration are at much higher risk for getting rearrested; and
WHEREAS, there are ho incentives in place for the criminal justice system to reduce recidivism of repeat offenders, some with hundreds of arrests; and
WHEREAS, this very complex issue of reducing jail recidivism involves local, county, and state governments working together to create a collaborative plan that will reduce jail recidivism among repeat offenders, especially those living with a co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders; and
WHEREAS, the financial costs of repeated jail recidivism continue to grow and limits our ability to provide more preventative care,
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that a task force made up of members from the City of Chicago's Department of Family & Support Services, the City of Chicago's Dept. of Public Health, Cook County Health and Hospitals System, the Cook County Sheriff's Office, Cook County State's Attorney, the Illinois Dept. of Corrections, the IL Dept. of Human Services, the IL State Commission oh Qrimi.nal Justice and Sentencing Reform, and other departments and organizations as indicated to form a task force.
BE IT RESOLVED, that this task force include the recommendations laid out in the December 2016 Final Report of the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform that emphasized a strong reliance on evidenced-based interventions that targets criminogenic need, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy and substance abuse treatment, and that these interventions also involve the City of Chicago, Cook County, and as well as the State of Illinois when indicated.
BE IT RESOLVED, that this task force work in a collaborative and coordinated manner on a regular basis to create both plans and incentives to reduce jail recidivism and that these plans
get reviewed to measure the effectiveness of their interventions, and that adjustments get made on a timely basis when it is indicated that recidivism is not being reduced among a set percentage of repeat offenders with very high rates of re-arrest.
BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this twenty-second day of February, 2017, hereby call on the State of Illinois and Cook County to come together with the City of Chicago on this task force to create a plan to reduce recidivism; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution is presented to the State of Illinois Governor, Bruce Rauner and the President of Cook County, Torii Preckwinkle for their consideration in this matter.