IPCSA - Illinois Probation and Court Services Association, Inc.

Below please find three important documents regarding the FY 2008 Budget: #1. Chief Justice Thomas' Comments, #2 Our Legislator, John McCabe's Response, and #3 The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

EXCERPTS FROM CHIEF JUSTICE THOMAS’

APPROPRIATION HEARING STATEMENT

(March 2, 2007)

I would be remiss if I did not include among the judiciary’s success stories the progress and planning for the delivery of probation services in the State of Illinois.Earlier I spoke of evidence-based practices and efforts to train Illinois judges on the application of these principles in the interest of reducing recidivism.In promoting public safety, the Supreme Court remains firmly and strongly committed to the delivery of probation services throughout the state.We have again charged our Task Force on Probation Funding to advise us in the areas of funding and core services.We are grateful and anticipate the advice and recommendations from those individuals – judges, county board officials, and probation service providers – which will assist the Court in the management of our probation resources.

The work of the Task Force is but one aspect that will impact the delivery or probation services in Illinois.Research has shown, and we now accept, that the unique services delivered by our probation and court services staff provide viable sentencing options for judges.Rather than warehousing individuals within the walls of our correctional institutions, probation offers a cost-effective option for lower risk offenders to remain within the community and receive the support services they need to become positive contributing members of the larger society.

It is true that, in Illinois, probation caseloads have, for the most part, remained constant.There is, nonetheless, a continuing need to provide funding adequate for the work of probation departments.The sad reality is that funding for probation services has not kept pace with growing needs.For these reasons, the 2008 Judicial Branch appropriation request includes both a 4% inflationary increase, as well as an additional 4% growth factor, to begin to restore funding for probation services statewide.I hope this, too, will be met with your favorable consideration.

Thank you Chairman Schoenberg, members of the Committee. I know you are very busy today so I will keep my remarks short.

My name is John McCabe, Director of Government Affairs for the Illinois Probation and Court Services Association, IPCSA.

Our association represents the more than 3,000 probation officers who work in every Illinois county under the direction of the Circuit Court. We are funded by each county with reimbursement from the Supreme Court Budget for a major portion of only the salary expense.

ion supervises more than 100,000 offenders, juvenile and adult, misdemeanor and felony. While national violent crime statistics have been trending downward the last few years, drug crimes, DUI’s, and the whole range of juvenile crime has kept our caseloads at peak levels. We supervise more than 3,000 sex offenders, which is about the same number of bills introduced on that subject in the past three years. These and other specialized caseloads command a major investment of time and scarce resources.

Over the last five fiscal years, we have lost twenty-five percent of our State salary reimbursement. That action forced counties to absorb all mandatory salary increases while they were experiencing the same economic pressures you have deal with in this committee. We have lost several hundred officers through attrition and layoffs. Caseload levels are probably two-to-three times the national standard for adult and juvenile officers.

This year, the Supreme Court has included a seven and one-half percent increase in our probation salary reimbursement and we want to thank them for that. We are looking to the General Assembly to prioritize our need for funds should the entire Supreme Court funding request come under review.
Additionally, we are looking to partner with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, and with private sources of funding, on a much needed management training program, to train the next generation Probation Chief Management Officers. More than 20 of the largest counties have Chief Management Officers with more than 20 to 30 years experience. This entire class of management personnel will be retired over the next five years. We are hoping to partner with several foundations to start this program but in future years, we will be looking to expand the Administrative Office’s funding for Training Programs.
Thank you very much for your precious time. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you Gracious Chair Davis, members of the Committee. I know you are very busy today so I will keep my remarks short.

My name is John McCabe, Director of Government Affairs for the Illinois Probation and Court Services Association, IPCSA.

Probation supervises more than 100,000 offenders, juvenile and adult, misdemeanor and felony. While national violent crime statistics have been trending downward the last few years, drug crimes, DUI’s, and the whole range of juvenile crime has kept our caseloads at peak levels. We supervise more than 3,000 sex offenders, which is about the same number of bills introduced on that subject in the past three years. These and other specialized caseloads command a major investment of time and scarce resources.

Additionally, we are looking to partner with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, and with private sources of funding, on a much needed management training program, to train the next generation Probation Chief Management Officers. More than 20 of the largest counties have Chief Management Officers with more than 20 to 30 years experience. This entire class of management personnel will be retired over the next five years. We are hoping to partner with several foundations to start this program but in future years, we will be looking to expand the Administrative Office’s funding for Training Programs.

Thank you very much for your precious time. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

SPRINGFIELD - Chief Justice Robert R. Thomas on Wednesday asked the General Assembly for a judicial branch budget topping $306 million.

If approved, Thomas' request for fiscal year 2008 would fund a pay raise for associate judges and restore probation funding to its highest level in six years.

Judicial salaries, which consume about 55 percent of the court system budget, would rise based on a cost-of-living adjustment of 3.5 percent.

That would raise the salaries of Supreme Court justices from $182,739 to $189,135; appellate justice salaries from $171,991 to $178,011; circuit judge salaries from $157,823 to $163,347; and associate judge salaries from $147,074 to $155,179. The amount for associate judges also includes an approved but as-yet unfunded Compensation Review Board recommendation that associate judges be paid 95 percent of what circuit judges earn.

Probation funding has been particularly squeezed in recent years - declining from a record high of $75.8 million in fiscal year 2002 to a low of $59.2 million in fiscal years 2005 and 2006, according to John McCabe of the Illinois Probation and Court Services Association.

After the legislature granted less than half the increase he sought last year, Thomas asked lawmakers to fund an 8 percent increase for probation services, bringing the total to just under $65 million.

''The sad reality is that funding for probation services has not kept pace with growing needs,'' Thomas told the House General Services Appropriations committee.

The House committee met in a sweltering room in an office building near the Capitol. The chairwoman, Rep. Monique D. Davis, D-Chicago, did not appear to remember the chief justice from last year's hearing.

She read from the slips of paper that all witnesses are required to fill out: ''Honorable Robert R. Thomas - is that you, sir?''

After reading a few other names, Davis said, ''Robert Thomas is . the chief justice, is that correct?''

''We're used to seeing that pretty little lady McMorrow, and she retired, is that correct?'' Davis remarked, referring to former justice Mary Ann G. McMorrow.

At the end of the hearing, Davis took the opportunity to ask Thomas about one of her pet issues. How could the legislature, she asked, eliminate jury trials in divorce cases when the Illinois Constitution states that the right to a trial by jury is ''inviolate?''

Thomas demurred, saying it sounded like an issue that could come before the court. He did say, however, that it was ''interesting'' that the change did not require a constitutional amendment and that he would discuss the subject with his colleagues.

Davis sponsored legislation to reintroduce juries in divorce cases, but it failed to attract enough votes to get out of committee earlier this year.

The Senate hearing, which has been contentious in past years, was relatively quiet. Sen. Jeffrey M. Schoenberg, the Evanston Democrat who chairs the Senate Appropriations II Committee, seemed eager to loosen the purse strings.

''I think we need to build on the momentum that we've been demonstrating as a state toward providing more resources for the administration of justice in this state so that people truly have equal protection under the law,'' Schoenberg said. ''So I'm quite pleased to be very supportive of this request.''

Senate Republicans have in recent years grilled Thomas and McMorrow on Judicial Inquiry Board complaints, the necessity of appellate courthouses and whether courthouse security was too strict. But with the retirement this January of one of the Senate's most vigorous inquisitors, Steven J. Rauschenberger, Senate Republicans were silent.