Juvenile Court Presiding Judge Michael Toomin is set to retire at the end of the year, ending 10 years of juvenile court leadership.
Judge Michael Toomin sits in his office at Cook County Juvenile Court on Nov. 15, 2022.
Judge Michael Toomin speaks in his office at Cook County Juvenile Court on Nov. 15, 2022, before his planned retirement.“He pretty much let us be the captain of the ship, recognizing we are operating within the bounds of the law and doing what was in the best interest of the kids who came through our courtrooms,” said former Juvenile Court Judge Marianne Jackson.
First elected in 1980, he cultivated a reputation as a conscientious judge and earned the affectionate nickname of the “Toominator.” He served as chairman of the Illinois Supreme Court’s special committee on capital cases and was appointed presiding judge in juvenile court by Chief Judge Tim Evans in 2010.
Jackson said she presided over periods of dwindling resources and sad cases. Laquan McDonald, who was shot and killed by former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, was on probation in her court. He had been doing much better, she said. But reform advocates have countered that locking up young children is endemic of a broken system that damages the children rather than helps them grow into healthy adults.
Some experts see this as the next frontier in juvenile justice — an opportunity for the incoming presiding judge to press for and seek to support.“For youth, I just think it’s a societal, moral obligation to take better care of our children,” said Cliff Nellis, executive director of Lawndale Christian Legal Center, which partnered with the county to start Chicago’s first restorative justice court in North Lawndale.
But he acknowledged he saw a shift in thinking around juvenile justice in his time as a judge, with advocacy to treat children more gently. He expressed a hesitancy in the justice system moving in that direction, a view of juvenile justice that indeed appears incompatible with the vision others have put forward.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said she was recusing herself from the case and handed it to a deputy.In March, in a surprising turn of events, her office dropped the charges, eliciting a storm of criticism and calls for an official review.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Late night shooting kills one, injures juvenile in Lancaster CitySome streets and public areas in Lancaster City may be closed while the police investigate the large crime scene, police said.
Read more »
3 wounded, including juvenile, in downtown Montgomery shootingMontgomery police are investigating a downtown shooting that left at least two people injured early Sunday morning.
Read more »
Court orders Philadelphia to remove box covering Columbus statueThe ruling could have implications for attempts to remove controversial monuments elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
Read more »
MTA construction forces years-long closure of SoHo basketball courtA sign on the now-shuttered Grand Canal basketball court indicates it will be closed through the third quarter of 2026, but the MTA said in a statement it will reopen by the end of 2024.
Read more »
A Supreme Court Case That Threatens the Mechanisms of DemocracyThe Supreme Court case Moore v. Harper, which turns on what is called the independent state-legislature theory, has been referred to as “the gravest threat to American democracy today.”
Read more »
Opinion | There is a path to save the Supreme Court from itselfOpinion by Jennifer Rubin: There is a path to save the Supreme Court from itself
Read more »