Chief Judge Evans names blue ribbon committee to help him select new director for juvenile detention center

Press Release |

Chief Judge plans to name new director by September 30, 2014

As part of his plans for the orderly transition of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center from a federal court appointed administrator to his office, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans has established the Circuit Court of Cook County Committee on the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. The committee is charged with recommending to the Chief Judge a list of finalists from among 45 individuals who applied to the Office of the Chief Judge for the position of executive director of the JTDC.  

“Our children deserve the best and the brightest individual as the next executive director of the JTDC so I have asked those who are among the best and the brightest in their respective fields to spearhead the selection process,” said Chief Judge Evans. He added, “Each member of the committee has a distinguished history as a progressive thinker committed to justice and reform. I have full confidence in the members’ abilities to provide guidance that will best serve the children and the mission of the juvenile court system.”  

Evans added that he plans to name the new executive director by the end of September and that the transition of the JTDC from the federal court’s transitional administrator to his office is expected to begin shortly thereafter. 

The Circuit Court of Cook County Committee on the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center is made up of the following individuals from the fields of juvenile justice, medical and mental health, law, education, labor and employment, and includes elected officials and the judiciary:  

  1. Carl C. Bell, M.D., Committee Co-Chair: staff psychiatrist – Outpatient Family Practice Clinic and consultation and liaison psychiatrist – Medical/Psychiatric Unit for Jackson Park Hospital; former professor of psychiatry and public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine; renowned author; M.D., Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee.
  2. Richard R. Boykin: partner, Barnes and Thornburg, LLP, specializing in government relations, appropriations, health care, education and municipal advocacy; running unopposed for Cook County Commissioner, First District, in the November 4, 2014, General Election; former chief of staff to U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis; J.D. University of Dayton Law School.
  3. Beverly J. Butler, Ed.D.: special assistant to Chief Judge Evans in the transition of the JTDC to Office of the Chief Judge; former Chicago Public School teacher and administrator; Ed.D. from Northern Illinois University, M.A. in Education Administration and Supervision from DePaul University.
  4. Frances G. Carroll, Ed.D.: retired Chicago Public School teacher and administrator; equal education activist; former trustee, Board of Trustees at the University of Illinois; Ed.D. from University of Sarasota, Sarasota, Florida; master’s degree in education from Chicago State University.
  5. Eugene Griffin, J.D., Ph.D.: director of research for the ChildTrauma Academy and lead developer of the Mental Health Training Curriculum for Juvenile Justice for the MacArthur Foundation/Models for Change and the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice; retired, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Northwestern University; J.D. from Northwestern University.
  6. Edward Harrison: retired president and chief executive officer of the National Commission on Correction Health Care, a non-profit that is the recognized standards-setting body for correctional health care which provides independent accreditation of correctional health services; served on numerous national committees and expert panels of federal agencies and has spoken and written extensively on public health and correctional matters; master’s degree from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
  7. Marisel A. Hernandez: partner, Jacobs Burns Orlove & Hernandez, concentrating in labor and employment issues; Chicago Board of Elections Commissioner; former trial attorney, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Chicago, Illinois,; former trial attorney, National Labor Relations Board, New York, New York, and Chicago, Illinois; J.D. from New York University School of Law; M.A. in Public Policy and Administration, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  8. Samuel V. Jones: professor, The John Marshall Law School, specializing in ethics and criminal jurisprudence, with particular emphasis on the plight of men and boys and endangered populations. Retired U.S. Army judge advocate and military police officer; former U.S. Marine; former corporate counsel for labor and employment for Blockbuster Inc.; former senior counsel for AT&T Corp; J.D. from Texas Southern University; LL.M. from Columbia Law School.
  9. James D. Montgomery, Sr.: managing partner, James D. Montgomery & Associates, Ltd., specializing in criminal and civil rights cases; lead counsel onthe landmark civil rights case, Hampton v. Hanrahan; former assistant United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Chicago corporation counsel under Mayor Harold Washington; trustee, University of Illinois Board of Trustees; fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers; J.D. from the University of Illinois Law School.
  10. Michael J. Rohan: retired director of Circuit Court of Cook County’s Juvenile Probation and Court Services Department; during his 20 year tenure, the department was recognized as a national leader in promoting systemic justice system reform; retired interim director of the Juvenile Court Clinic for Forensic Clinical Services, Circuit Court of Cook County; instructor/lecturer for Loyola University, Chicago Police Academy, University of Illinois at Chicago and the Annie E. Casey Foundation; M.S. in Industrial Relations, Loyola University; M.A. in Criminal Justice Administration, University of Illinois.
  11. Sister Catherine M. Ryan, O.S.F.: executive director, Maryville Academy, City of Youth; former chief of the Cook County’s State’s Attorney Juvenile Justice Bureau; J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law; M.B.A. from DePaul University.
  12. Bryan H. Samuels: executive director, Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, a nonprofit research and policy organization which focuses on improving the well-being of vulnerable children and youth, families and their communities; former commissioner, Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; former chief of staff, Chicago Public Schools; former director, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services; M.P.P. from University of Chicago-Harris School.
  13. Honorable Larry Suffredin: Commissioner, Cook County Board, 13th District; chair, Legislation and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee and Rules and Administration Committee of the Cook County Board; J.D. from Georgetown University.
  14. Honorable Judge Michael P. Toomin: Presiding Judge, Juvenile Justice Division, Circuit Court of Cook County; former Justice, Illinois Appellate Court - First District; former felony trial judge and supervising judge, Criminal Division, Circuit Court of Cook County.
  15. Paula Wolff: director, Illinois Justice Project, an organization which implements policy  initiatives to improve the justice system by addressing criminal sentencing, violence, incarceration and rehabilitation; chair, City Colleges of Chicago; board member, University of Chicago Medical Center; trustee, University of Chicago Board of Trustees; former president, Governors State University; M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago. 

Chief Judge Evans is the committee’s co-chair with Dr. Bell. 

The Office of the Chief Judge conducted a national search for the position. A total of 47 applications were received with two applicants ultimately withdrawing.

The Circuit Court of Cook County Committee on the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center said it plans to evaluate and interview applicants over the next three weeks. 

The JTDC has been headed by a federal court appointed transitional administrator since 2007 when the lack of reform efforts by the executive branch of local government led to intolerable, unconstitutional conditions in the facility. The Illinois General Assembly has transferred control of the JTDC to the chief judge. The transition of the JTDC to the chief judge remains subject to the authority of the federal court.

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