The Cook County state’s attorney’s office will launch a new pilot program offering an alternative to jail for teenage boys from the city’s West Side who’ve been accused of serious crimes.
The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved $1 million in funding Thursday for the program, which will provide academic and after-school support services to teens who otherwise may have been locked up while awaiting trial.
“Young people need structure and activities, and they also need a community that cares,” State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said in a statement Thursday. “This program builds on that foundation. At the same time, we must recognize the need for new approaches to address the stubborn public safety problem of minors who continue down a path of escalating violence.”…