A recent investigation by Pro Publica and the Chicago Tribune revealed that many schools within Illinois are ticketing students for rather common misbehavior in schools. Much of the ticketing either skirts state law or outright breaks it as schools are not allowed to ticket students and in 2019 the state outlawed completely the practice of ticketing students for truancy. The change in state law did not slow the practice of ticketing students for truancy regardless of the practice being outlawed. It seems as if many schools in Illinois viewed the law as optional or not applying to them.

Today with speak with the two authors of this amazing piece of investigative reporting Jodi Cohen from Pro Publica Illinois and Jennifer Smith Richards from the Chicago Tribune. Their story is a deep dive into a practice that is used by countless schools districts around the state. Years ago the state outlawed schools themselves from directly ticketing students. So, many school districts did not want to give the practice up so they instead hand the kids over to police to do the ticketing. Many schools have school resource officers stationed in the schools so it is a quick walk over to that office where they hand the child off to the officer and pretend that the schools are not involved in ticketing the students. If this sounds highly corrupt and very typical for Illinois you would be correct.

Of the many problems involved in this practice is that many times the ticketing of students is hitting students from the most under-served communities with the least resources possible to pay the fines and fees. Then their is the quasi legal process where students who want to fight the legitimacy of the ticket have to appear in front of hearing officers in mock courtroom settings or in front of judges in courtrooms but are not provided counsel at any point. As Cohen and Smith Richards discuss today the entire process regardless of the setting is set up as an assembly line to process kids through an unjust mockery of due process.