Research at a Glance

              Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Lori G. Levin, Executive Director
State of Illinois
Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor
RESEARCH AT A GLANCE
Vol. 1, No. 4 * April 2006 | Research at a Glance is a quick fact sheet summarizing findings from the latest ICJIA reports. Refer to Research Bulletin, “Assess-ing
disproportionate minority contact with the Illinois juvenile justice system,” by Phillip Stevenson, ICJIA senior research analyst, or visit www.icjia.state.il.us
for more information on this topic.
This project was supported by Grant # 03-DB-BX-0037, awarded to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority by the Bureau of Justice Assistance,
Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in this document do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S.
Department of Justice.
Juvenile arrest rates reveal significant racial disparity
In 2003, African-American youth in
Illinois were arrested at a level that
was more than three times their
representation in the general juvenile
population of the state. Asian/Pacific
Islander and Caucasian youth were
arrested at a level approximately
one-tenth and two-thirds, respec-tively,
of their representation in the
general juvenile population of Illi-nois.
Of the 42 counties with a sufficient
percentage of African-American
youth to measure disproportionate
minority contact, 35 had an over-representation
of African Americans
among youth arrested when com-pared
to their representation in the
general juvenile population in those
counties.
In contrast, Asian/Pacific Islander
youth were not overrepresented in
any Illinois county at the point of
arrest when compared to their repre-sentation
in the general juvenile
population
In 2003, African-American youth in
Illinois were arrested at a rate that
was nearly five times the rate at
which Caucasian youth were ar-rested.
In contrast, Asian/Pacific
Islander youth were arrested at just
less than one-fifth the rate of Cauca-sian
youth.
Figure 1
African-American arrest relative rate index by county
Jo Daviess Stephenson Winnebago
Boone
McHenry
Lake
Carroll Ogle DeKalb
Kane
Cook
Whiteside Lee
DuPage
Henry Bureau
LaSalle
Kendall
Will
Grundy
Putnam
Rock Island
Knox Stark
Mercer
Marshall Livingston
Woodford
Peoria
Fulton
Warren
Henderson
Hancock McDonough Tazewell
McLean
De Witt
Logan
Mason
Schuyler
Adams
Brown Cass
Menard
Macon
Morgan Sangamon
Pike
Scott
Calhoun
Macoupin
Madison
Jersey
St. Clair
Montgomery
Fayette
Bond
Clinton Marion
Washington Jefferson
Perry
Franklin
Williamson
Jackson
Union Johnson
Pulaski Massac
Alexander
Hamilton White
Saline Gallatin
Pope Hardin
Clark
Cumberland
Jasper Crawford Effingham
Clay
Richland Lawrence
Wabash
Edwards
Wayne
Iroquois
Ford
Vermilion
Champaign
Piatt
Douglas
Coles
Moultrie
Christian
Shelby
Kankakee
Edgar
Greene
Monroe
Randolph
Insufficient numbers to assess DMC
Equal to or less than Caucasian youth
1.01 to 2 times Caucasian arrest rate
2.01 to 5 times Caucasian arrest rate
Greater than 5 times Caucasian arrest rate
African-American arrest rates