Articles Posted in Juvenile Crimes

It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: receiving a call or a visit from law enforcement telling you that your child has been arrested in Chicago. The shock, fear, and confusion that follow such news can be overwhelming. However, it’s crucial to remember that you are not alone, and there are steps you can take to support…

The ubiquitous presence of phones and computers in children’s lives has created new social questions for parents, schools, and lawmakers. One detective in Illinois found that 60% of “sextortion” online comes from peers, not strangers. The other 40%? It comes from internet gaming. As if that wasn’t terrifying enough, state and national legislation have struggled…

Most people are familiar with the phrase “you have the right to remain silent.” Even if you’ve never been told those words by police yourself, watch enough television and movies and you know the drill. “The right to remain silent” and the words that come after are what is known as your Miranda rights. You…

The juvenile justice system was established in Illinois over 100 years ago. It was created because Illinois recognizes juveniles who commit crimes are far different than adults that do. As such, the juvenile rehabilitation system needs to be distinct. In fact, research shows that juvenile offenders have a greater capacity for change than adults. Additionally,…

Everyone makes mistakes as a teenager. Unfortunately, some of life’s lessons can follow us into adulthood. Criminal charges from your youth may continue to affect you as an adult and you may not even know it. For this reason, Illinois legislators offer former offenders the chance for a “do-over” through expungement and record sealing. These…

If drinking is part of your family’s holiday tradition, you might be tempted to let your teen partake in a small amount of alcohol. This is okay – but only under certain circumstances. Therefore, if you’re going to allow your teen to drink over the holidays this year, it’s important to know what you can…

Your child has top grades, a slew of extracurriculars, and the SAT/ACT scores they need to get into the school of their dreams. If they also have a juvenile record, though, their chances of getting into college at all are severely compromised. Did you know that most colleges require applicants to disclose their criminal history,…

Most parents fear, on some level, that their children will have a brush with the law. The reality is even good kids do dangerous or stupid things on occasion. If they’re caught, they could face serious legal trouble. As a parent, your first inclination is to help your child in any way that you can.…

How to people learn? By making mistakes. Everyone has to live a little, experiment with their surroundings, and make mistakes in order to learn for themselves how the world works. At no time is this truer than when we are growing up – and as we grow, the potential of those mistakes to be bigger…

If your child has recently been arrested or charged with a crime, we understand that you are worried. The criminal justice system in Illinois is supposed to protect the people of our state, but that often means placing severe punishments on people who may have just made a bad mistake. This is particularly unfortunate for…