Crime & Law
Cook County’s New Chief Judge on Immigration Enforcement, Electronic Monitoring
Cook County has a new chief judge for the first time in nearly 25 years.
Judge Charles Beach has inherited the nation’s second-largest unified court system — and it comes with some baggage.
The Office of the Chief Judge now manages the pretrial electronic monitoring system, which has come under scrutiny after some high-profile cases. Last month, a woman was set on fire on a CTA Blue Line train; the man charged in the attack has a lengthy criminal background and was out of jail on electronic monitoring at the time.
Beach promises more transparency, better training and a renewed focus on public safety.
The new chief judge joined “Chicago Tonight” to discuss his priorities and vision for the future.
On why he wanted the position:
“I left private practice to get on the bench because I believed in the judiciary. I believed in the positive things it can do. And as I worked my way through and had various supervisor roles, I just thought being in leadership is a way you can further effectuate those positive things in the judiciary. So it’s a long road towards trying to make this a better county.”
On immigration enforcement in and outside of courthouses:
“We currently have an order that was put in place by my predecessor, Chief (Tim) Evans. It’s going to stay in place. It’s important that litigants, whether they be victims, witnesses, the accused, know that they can come to court, that the law is going to be there to support them, and that this is a safe space for them to be. For the judiciary to work, for our system of law to work, they need to be able to get to and from court and be active in court.”
On electronic monitoring:
“We’re looking at the electronic monitoring system that’s currently under the Office of the Chief Judge. We’re going to analyze it. We’re going to use some data to take a look at what’s working, what’s not working, and definitely try to tighten up our protocols. Like everything, it can be improved, and that’s what we’re looking to do.
“There is currently a statewide system run by the Office of Statewide Pretrial Services that services about 82 of the 102 counties in the state and operates their electronic monitoring program. Certainly, my committee, as they review what we’re doing here in Cook County, will consider what the statewide division could do as well and whether it’s better placed here or with them.”
On court divisions that have the most urgent needs for improvement:
“The Juvenile Temporary Detention Center was an initial focus of ours immediately. Also, domestic relations and domestic violence. The domestic violence courthouse in particular, when I was a practicing attorney, was a sleepy kind of courthouse. There wasn’t a ton going on. Today, you walk into that courthouse and there’s people sitting in folding chairs in the hallways. There’s a lot going on in that building, and so I think we need to look at that, see what we can do to make it more efficient.
“The JTDC (Juvenile Temporary Detention Center) in particular, it’s been a hot point for a while, and we’ve been looking at it, and a committee I had formed looked at it and made recommendations, which I just adopted the other day. We are going to implement what is considered best practices as seen across the country. Previously, we had not been doing that, but we are going to do that going forward, and that will involve new hires, a new organizational structure and some monitoring.”
On possible challenges:
“There’s approximately 2,600 employees, not including the judges. Chief Evans had been there for 24 years, and he did a great job while he was there. I’ll have a different approach to how things are managed than him, just because I’m a different person. But that approach involves getting down and meeting the individuals. I’ve actually, so far, been to almost every courthouse and met not only with the judges, but the support staff, the social service workers, the probation workers. My intention is to be seen by them, to hear them, and to try to improve the way they work more efficiently, make them more efficient so they serve the county better.”
