Keeping the Promise of Juvenile Court: The Failed Experiment of Trying and Sentencing Children in Adult Court in Illinois

This issue brief by the Juvenile Justice Initiative provides an overview of transfer laws in Illinois. Additionally, the brief reviews demographic data on young people who are being tried as adults and identifies the ways that transfer fails children and public safety in the state of Illinois. The brief ends by calling for a return to full individual review in juvenile court before transfer and outlines five additional recommendations that are consistent with research and international standards.