Our History
Dedicated on August 7, 1907, the three story Chicago Juvenile Court building at 202 Ewing Street in Chicago was the first of its kind in the nation, providing detention housing for 53 delinquent boys, as well as housing for 50 dependent boys and girls.
In 1973, a five-story facility was completed and named the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC). The facility has 30 separate housing pods each accommodating 16 to 18 residents with a total functional capacity of 382 residents.
In 1999, the ACLU filed a class action lawsuit, Doe v. Cook County, No. 99 C 3945, regarding inadequate conditions of confinement at the JTDC. After a series of federal court orders, including the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), the Agreed Supplemental Order (ASO), and the Modified Implementation Plan (MIP), Cook County entered into a settlement agreement in the lawsuit.
In 2007, the Illinois Legislature passed Public Act 095-0194 transferring the administrative control of the JTDC from the Cook County Board to the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, effective January 1, 2008.
On August 14, 2007 the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois appointed a Transitional Administrator (TA). The Office of the Transitional Administrator (OTA) was created to bring the JTDC into substantial compliance with the aforementioned court orders while fostering an efficient and orderly transition of administrative and operational authority to the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
On May 20, 2015, the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois found that JTDC was in substantial compliance with federal mandates and transferred administrative control to the Office of the Chief Judge.
On September 16, 2015 the Court closed the case and ended all federal oversight of JTDC.