Progress Illinois

The Chicago News Cooperative's Daniel Libit has a nice profile this morning of Judge John Kirby, who initiated a "one-man reform campaign" to ease the glut of nonviolent drug cases in the Cook County court system and divert those offenders into drug treatment and educational programs:

His approach showed promise. A few offenders will receive high school diplomas through a Cook County Jail program this month. Local reformers applaud Mr. Kirby’s changes. And now, despite some contention between them, Thomas Dart, the Cook County sheriff, and Timothy C. Evans, chief judge of the county Circuit Court, are exploring ways of expanding the diversion process into other courtrooms.

One of those organizations working hard to increase alternatives to prison is the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice.  They're currently collecting data about various drug treatment facilities in the area to reassure judges that enough facilities exist to divert offenders. They've also authored a similar diversionary proposal for the Cook County felony court system. And it's worth mentioning that Ald. Toni Preckwinkle has talked at length about expanding electronic home monitoring and diversion programs to lower the county's prison population if she's elected board president this November.

Jon Burge may have tortured Chicago citizens, but he sure didn't commit perjury. That's the argument the former police commander's defense team is making in court this week. In his latest post at Vocalo, John Conroy -- who has covered the Chicago police torture scandal for two decades -- explains that Burge's lawyers are suggesting their client was not required by oath to tell the truth when he filed written responses to two separate lists of questions in a 2003 civil case. That's important because the trial is only concerned with charges of obstruction of justice and perjury, not the actual acts of torture he allegedly (and all but undoubtedly) committed.

Conroy sums up the frustrations of many when he writes that "it may be something of a small miracle that there is anything at all to indict Burge for." His recap also underscores how ridiculous it is that state law imposes a statute of limitations on crimes human rights organizations describe as torture. Hopefully, that's the lesson pols and the media will take away from these proceedings.

Remember that proposal to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to the vacant prison in Thomson? It faces a big hurdle tomorrow. Buried in a FY 2011 budget request (H.R. 5136) for the costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is a $350 million "transfer" fund that would permit the Obama administration to shutter the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and move inmates to Illinois. Tomorrow, the House Armed Services Committee will mark up that appropriation bill. If the Thomson fund survives, Spencer Ackerman says there's a good chance the full House will approve it next week.

Left unsolved, however, is what to do with those detainees that might ultimately be transferred. That's a question far more important than where they rest their heads at night.