All this week we’re resuming our series on juvenile justice, Inside and Out. Today, half of the high school-aged kids locked up at the St. Charles youth prison west of Chicago are not getting full-time classes because there aren’t enough teachers. In other words, the State of Illinois locks up teenagers and then fails to provide them with even a basic education. It’s a situation that has existed for years.
The failure to give such a fundamental service raises questions about how well the four-year-old Department of Juvenile Justice has been living up to its mission to help troubled kids turn things around. We’ve gotten a glimpse of what education in St. Charles looks like for those who are lucky enough to get full-time classes. And that education has problems too.