Press Release |
The Cook County Circuit Court’s Fifth Municipal District in Bridgeview is hosting a joint Problem-Solving Court ceremony on Monday, August 5 for seven graduates from the drug, mental health and veterans treatment courts.
The public ceremony, hosted by the Hon. Kathaleen Lanahan, will be held at 11 a.m. in courtroom 108 at the Bridgeview Courthouse at 10220 South 76th Avenue in Bridgeview. Four drug treatment court graduates, two mental health court graduates and one veterans treatment court graduate will participate.
“It is with hard work, determination and courage that our graduates have completed a specialty court probation, successfully,” Judge Lanahan said. “I am proud to celebrate their commencement, the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.”
The Bridgeview Problem-Solving Courts are part of the Circuit Court of Cook County’s network of Problem-Solving Courts operating in the Leighton Criminal Courthouse and the five suburban municipal district courts.
“We are proud of our Problem-Solving Courts, which provide help to individuals who need it and keep them out of the criminal justice system,” said Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans. “I congratulate our Bridgeview graduates, who have turned their lives around under the guidance of Judge Lanahan and other members of our team.”
Also known as specialty or therapeutic courts, these courts help prevent high-risk, high-need individuals suffering from an underlying mental health, social or substance use disorder from becoming repeat offenders. The goals of Problem-Solving Courts are increased public safety for communities, increased treatment engagement by participants, improved quality of life for participants and more effective use of community-based resources that allow diversion from prison. To achieve these goals, programs provide counseling, treatment and intensive supervision.
Participants, charged with non-violent crimes, enter the programs voluntarily. The programs take about two years to complete.
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