What to Expect If Your Child is Arrested in Chicago

It’s the news no parent wants to hear: your child has just been arrested. It can be scary, confusing, or overwhelming. You may not know where your child is or why he or she was arrested. You may be wondering what happens next and what role police, prosecutors, probation officers, and judges play in the process.

As part of our coverage of the juvenile justice system in Cook County and Chicago’s failure to implement a working diversion program, we spoke with legal experts to better understand what happens after a child is arrested in Cook County.

Here’s what we learned.

Disclaimer: We are not lawyers and this does not constitute legal advice. You should always consult an attorney with any legal questions.

Children have the right to a lawyer after arrest

When a child is arrested, police officers take them to a police station where they are fingerprinted, photographed, processed and questioned. Unlike other states, Illinois has no minimum age for arrest. However, children under 12 cannot be held in a municipal jail for more than six hours.

Like adults, police must inform children of their rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. Police departments in Cook County are required to post the Cook County Public Defender’s Office hotline at (844) 817-4448 in each station, which parents can also call before speaking with police. The Public Defender’s Office will immediately dispatch an attorney to the police station to represent each child free of charge.

State law requires officers to “immediately make a reasonable attempt” to reach the child’s parents or guardians. However, police are allowed to question a child without an adult present. Officers must ask a child if he or she wants an attorney, but the child can waive that right unless he or she is younger than 15 and charged with murder or sexual assault. (State lawmakers introduced a bill earlier this year requiring the presence of an attorney in all interrogations of minors, but it failed to make it through committee.)

Formal station adaptation vs. informal station adaptation

After arrest, a child may receive a ward adjustment. A ward adjustment occurs when the officer records the arrest but does not refer the case to juvenile court. There are two types of ward adjustments: formal ward adjustments and informal ward adjustments.

An informal placement adjustment allows a child to be released to a parent or guardian under certain conditions, such as curfew or community service, without having to admit guilt. A formal placement adjustment requires the child to admit guilt in writing and the parent and child must agree to the terms of release. As part of a placement adjustment, police may refer a child to a diversion program, which may include programs or social services.

If the child violates the conditions of a ward adjustment, the officer may issue a warning, extend the duration of the conditions to a maximum of 180 days, increase the community service to a maximum of 40 hours, or refer the child to juvenile court.

If detained, children must be brought before a judge within 40 hours of their arrest.

If a child is arraigned in court, law enforcement contacts the Cook County Juvenile Probation and Court Services Department. A probation officer uses a points-based selection process to determine whether the child should be held at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center or released while awaiting his or her first court hearing. The selection process takes into account the type and severity of the charge, as well as the child’s history, which may include school attendance, criminal record, and family involvement. If a child scores 15 points or more, he or she must be held in the juvenile detention center until his or her court hearing. If he or she scores less than 15 points, he or she may be released to a parent or guardian with a summons to appear at the first court hearing. Any child charged with gun possession automatically receives 15 points and is detained.

The detention hearing should take place within 40 hours of the arrest (not including holidays and weekends). During this hearing, a juvenile judge will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to charge the child with a crime and whether the child should remain in juvenile detention during the hearing. The judge may order electronic monitoring, house arrest, or short-term community programs as an alternative to detention while the child awaits trial.

Juvenile court protects a child’s privacy

One difference between the juvenile court and the adult criminal justice system is that delinquency is not considered a criminal conviction. Children convicted of delinquency in the juvenile court do not have to disclose that they have been convicted of a crime when applying for housing, training, or employment.

Another difference is the laws protecting a child’s identity in juvenile court. Journalists can request to be present at juvenile court proceedings, but cannot publicly disclose the child’s name or access their records in a way that violates the child’s privacy. Anyone who wishes to view juvenile court records must submit a formal request to the court.

Some juvenile cases may also be automatically expunged, meaning that all records of the arrest and court outcome are deleted after two years. Examples include cases where a child was arrested but not charged, the charges were dropped, or the child was found not to be delinquent. A case may also be automatically expunged if the child was found delinquent of a minor offense or was sentenced to probation and satisfactorily completed the sentence. Cases cannot be automatically expunged if the arrested person has a juvenile or adult criminal case pending against them.

Any adult whose juvenile criminal record did not qualify for automatic expungement can petition the court to have their juvenile criminal record expunged two years after all juvenile court proceedings have been completed. First-degree murder charges and cases requiring a person to register as a sex offender cannot be expunged. Unlike adults, children can petition to be expunged from the sex offender registry after two years of registration for misdemeanors and five years for felonies. If the petition is approved, the child can petition the court for expungement.

resources

• Cook County Public Defender’s Office Arrest Hotline: (844) 817-4448.
• Legal Aid Chicago Juvenile Criminal Records Expungement Helpdesk1100 S. Hamilton Ave., accepts walk-in visits Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (312) 229-6072.
• Legal Aid Chicago also offers free legal services throughout Chicago, (312) 341-1070
• Equipping for equality provides legal assistance to people with disabilities, (800) 537-2632