Crime & Law

Cook County Chief Judge Charles Beach Highlights New Court Reforms From First Month in Office

In his first month as Cook County’s new chief judge, Charles Beach said he has worked to improve transparency, strengthen court operations and boost overall accountability.

Beach, who was sworn in last month as the county’s first new chief judge in nearly a quarter century, said he launched multiple reforms in his first weeks on the job aimed at enhancing programs including electronic monitoring and juvenile justice.

“These changes are intended to improve safety and make our courts more transparent, efficient and fair,” Beach said in a statement Monday. “I am grateful for the opportunity to work with our judges and court staff on making these improvements and appreciate their commitment going forward.”

Beach replaced eight-time incumbent Tim Evans, who had served as chief judge since 2001.

On his second day in office, Beach announced a new committee tasked with reviewing and improving communication procedures related to violations within the court’s electronic monitoring program.

Those plans came weeks after a man who was on electronic monitoring and had a lengthy criminal past allegedly lit a woman on fire onboard a CTA Blue Line train. The victim survived with critical injuries and the suspect now faces a federal terrorism charge.

That committee is set to include judges and representatives from the Adult Probation Department as well as the Cook County State’s Attorney and Public Defender’s offices, the county sheriff and county clerk.

Initial improvement recommendations are expected later this month.

Beach also created a new leadership role — the director of juvenile services — who is expected to address safety and fairness issues and work toward better outcomes for youth.

That director will oversee the superintendent of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center and will work directly with juvenile court judges to improve coordination, accountability and policy implementation across the system, according to the chief judge.

“We are going to implement what is considered best practices as seen across the country,” Beach told “Chicago Tonight” on Dec. 11. “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.”

Beach on Monday also said he intends to end the “siloing” of various judicial divisions and districts, asking them to participate in committees and engage with non-judicial staff and other stakeholders, advocates and county and city departments.

“We have so much talent in our judiciary and we want to use their experience to improve the court,” Beach said. “We are engaging judges across all districts and divisions to discuss problems and come up with the best solutions for the citizens of Cook County.”

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