ILLINOIS (WAND) - An Illinois judge is seeking the creation of a young adult branch of circuit courts in Illinois, calling the option potentially "far more humane" than adult criminal courts. 

The idea was submitted by First District Chief Judge Timothy Evans, who has been Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County since being elected to the position in Sept. 2001. Evans shared his thoughts as a guest columnist on the Illinois Courts website. 

Evans said this third branch of circuit court, named "Young Adult Court," would specifically address conduct of emerging adults, or people between 18 and 26 years old.

"This new court would include features specific to our juvenile courts that are dedicated to addressing the delinquent conduct engaged in by children under the age of 18, and, likewise, this new court would be similar to our adult courts that are designed and best suited to address the criminal conduct of fully developed and mature adults," Evans said. 

He pointed out people in the young adult age range are legally considered adults, but do not have fully developed or mature brains. The pre-frontal cortex, which controls cognitive thoughts and planning and emotional responses to stress, does not fully develop until a person is closer to age 26, he added. 

"Like juveniles, who also lack a fully developed pre-frontal cortex, emerging adults are often sensation seekers who are easily led astray and frequently act without first considering the consequences of their actions," Evans said. "While their actions without a fully developed brain often can be devastating to other members of our society, their personality is not irretrievable, and their conduct can be particularly responsive to restorative justice techniques pursued with them in a community court setting."

In Cook County, Evans said three Restorative Justice Community Courts have been established for emerging adults who face nonviolent felony or misdemeanor charges. They can be found on the city's West Side in North Lawndale, on the South Side in Englewood and on the North Side in Avondale. 

"These Restorative Justice Community Courts are particularly effective for emerging adults, because these courts are dedicated not to punishing the perpetrators but, instead, healing the harm caused by the emerging adult to the victim of his conduct and the community where the victim resides or where the crime took place and stopping the improper conduct of the emerging adult," Evans said. 

The perpetrator is called the "participant" in these courts. Evans said the person admits to the crime and apologizes to the victim and the community for the crime and for causing the victim harm. They agree to sign a "Repair of Harm Agreement," which has the purpose of making the victim and community whole through options such as restitution, apology, public service, etc. 

The participant also agrees to take steps to keep criminal acts against the victim or others in the community from happening again. This can include cognitive behavior therapy, drug rehabilitation, preparation for employment and other options. 

Once Repair of Harm Agreement requirements have been met, charges are dismissed and the participant has their record expunged, Evans said. 

Evans shared some examples of this type of court leading to results. 

"Our North Lawndale court, established in 2017, has already seen marvelous success stories. A young man named Charles Taylor, for example, had been arrested on a narcotics charge. Now he has a diploma, a forklift operator's license and a clean record," Evans said. "Another graduate of the North Lawndale court, Anita Stevens, had a gun-related case. She graduated from the program in record time – less than a year – despite the coronavirus pandemic and the birth of her child. With a clean record, Ms. Stevens now runs her own business and hopes to be a mentor for other young people. 

"Our experience with emerging adults in community courts strongly suggests Young Adult Courts for emerging adults would be far more humane than adult criminal courts, they would reduce recidivism better than conventional adult criminal courts, and they would result in the emerging adult returning to the community without a criminal record and ready to contribute to society in a positive way."