WOODLAWN — Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia took part in a peace circle in Woodlawn on Wednesday to see firsthand how restorative justice can help the community.
The county has committed to spending $500,000 on restorative justice programs at the urging of the Community Renewal Society and other groups over the next year. Restorative justice attempts to resolve conflicts in communities before they escalate into something that must be mediated by law enforcement and the courts.
Preckwinkle sat with a ribbon in her hand at the headquarters of Southside Together Organizing for Power, 602 E. 61st St., listening to Woodlawn youth tell who taught them to value respect and forgiveness. She added her own inspiration, former U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan (D-Texas), before tying her ribbon to the man next to her.
“We’ve started thinking about what we ought to do beyond the jails and the courts,” Preckwinkle said at a press conference after the peace circle.
She said the county is trying to reduce the number of people in jail awaiting trial for nonviolent offenses and wants to reinvest the savings from lowering the jail population into programs like restorative justice.
“I used to think that in order for someone to respect you, they had to fear you,” said Darrius Lightfoot, now an organizer for the Woodlawn group.
Southside Together for Power and other similar groups will be eligible to apply for a chunk of the funding and will get a year to show that restorative justice works.
Garcia, whose district includes the jail, said he believes the methods works and will help to create a new culture in violent parts of the city.
“It’s one of the tools that we must convert into a movement,” Garcia said. “It’s about restoring what has been torn, what has been harmed, our community fabric.”
Applications are due by Aug. 18 for groups seeking funding.
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