On the eve of Rosh Hashanah we lost Ruth Bader Ginsberg, champion of justice and women's rights. We mourn her and honor her legacy by continuing the fight for justice and equality for all Americans. One way that we can do this is by updating our outdated positions on criminal justice so that we can support progressive legislation in Illinois. Our Criminal Justice Committee of seven will be discussing the second segment of the Consensus Questions, "Bias in the Criminal Justice System." (There is no current position on this topic.) Statistics tell us that percentage-wise, there are many more black and brown people involved in the Criminal Court system than white people; is that a discrepancy that needs to be addressed? The Consensus Question is:
Should there be periodic training for individuals working in the criminal justice system to recognize implicit racial and ethnic bias in order to more adequately work toward the goal of equal treatment under the law?
Please read
question #2, including the links to related research materials in order to help you decide to vote YES or NO. Considering these questions one at a time will allow for a step by step approach to the study. You can access the entire document of consensus questions
here.
