Will County Veterans and Servicemembers Court

The 12th Judicial Circuit runs the Will County Veterans and Servicemembers Court under 730 ILCS 167; see the Illinois entry. The State's Attorney petitioned for it, and it has operated since 2012, the third of the county's problem-solving courts, with capacity for 50 participants and more than 35 graduates. Hines VA Hospital's Veterans Justice Outreach specialist and the Veterans Assistance Commission sit on the team. Who. The court's policy manual (2021) targets adult veterans or servicemembers charged with a probationable offense who have a substance use or mental health diagnosis, consent, agree to stop all drug and alcohol use, and admit guilt or are found guilty; the State's Attorney describes the target as veterans in felony court. Eligibility is screened by the Will County Health Department, and the team must approve each admission. Who is excluded. The manual excludes anyone currently charged with, or convicted within the past ten years of, first or second degree murder, predatory or aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, armed robbery, arson or aggravated arson, kidnapping or aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm or permanent disability, stalking or aggravated stalking, or any offense involving the discharge of a firearm, and anyone charged with a non-probationable offense the prosecutor will not amend. Section 20 of the State act looks back five years for a crime of violence, not ten, so a veteran with an older conviction is shut out by the court's rule, not the statute's. Outcome. It is post-adjudicatory: sentencing is deferred while the participant completes the programme. At graduation many felony charges are struck with leave to reinstate, so that they can later be removed from the record; a misdemeanor DUI conviction stands regardless. Contact [email protected].