Announcement, Press Release |
CHICAGO – The Cook County Circuit Court’s Second Municipal District Court in Skokie is hosting a ceremony on November 8 – three days before Veterans Day – for graduates of its Veterans Treatment Court.
The public ceremony, hosted by the Hon. Michael J. Hood, will be held at 12 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8 at the Skokie Courthouse, 5600 Old Orchard Road, Room 201. Three graduates will participate. Judge Hood, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, has run the Veterans Treatment Court in Skokie since 2016. The graduates also will each receive a handmade quilt from the “Quilts of Valor” program.
“This graduation marks mission completion for these three veterans and we celebrate their accomplishment,” Judge Hood said. “We thank them and all veterans for their selfless service.”
The Skokie Veterans Treatment Court is part the Circuit Court of Cook County’s network of 20 Problem-Solving Courts operating in the Leighton Criminal Courthouse and the five suburban municipal district courts.
“It is extremely important, on Veterans Day and every day, to recognize the challenges faced by some veterans when they return to civilian life,” said Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans. “I congratulate our Veterans Treatment Court graduates for doing the hard work needed to turn their lives around. And I thank them and all veterans for their service.”
Also known as specialty or therapeutic courts, Problem-Solving 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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