Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed into law legislation to end automatic transfers to adult court for youth charged with certain serious crimes, ensuring their cases will be heard before a juvenile court judge who can consider mitigating factors such as background, mental capacity, and culpability before deciding whether their case should go to adult court. Rauner also signed legislation that will end the practice of committing offenders to Juvenile Justice Department facilities for misdemeanor offenses and that will ensure no minor will be confined for longer than an adult would for the same offense. Juvenile Justice Initiative, a MacArthur grantee, was instrumental in bringing about these reforms.
