PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chief Judge Evans announces family violence conference in Sixth Municipal District

Released On 10/12/2001

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and Sixth Municipal District Presiding Judge Ronald C. Riley have announced that the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council (IFVCC) of the Sixth Municipal District will host Prevention . . . A Coordinated Community Response Conference on Tuesday, October 16, 2001, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m at the Holiday Inn Convention Center, 18501 South Harlem Avenue, Tinley Park, Illinois. The free conference will focus on ways in which the private and public sector can unite to provide a coordinated response to victims of family violence.

"The court has assumed a pivotal role in family violence prevention through the activities of the family violence prevention council operating in each of the court's suburban districts of the court," said Chief Judge Evans. "Under the guidance of chairman Presiding Judge Ron Riley, the Sixth Municipal District's Family Violence Coordinating Council is producing remarkable results in the effort to coordinate community response to victims of family violence in Cook County southern suburbs," added Chief Judge Evans.

Scheduled conference speakers include Chief Judge Evans, Judge Riley and Cook County State's Attorney Richard A. Devine. The keynote speaker for the conference is Ms. Karla Fiaoni, a representative of the Chicago Heights Police Department.

Conference participants include judges, south suburban mayors and law enforcement officials, assistant state's attorneys, assistant public defenders, medical and educational personnel, as well as individuals who work with family violence victims. With close to 250 attendees anticipated, registration for the conference is closed.

The conference will feature eight workshops on domestic violence topics, including the role cultural issues play, the importance of treatment for children exposed to domestic violence, and the exploration of gender as a socially structured concept. Attendees also will have the opportunity to learn about police protocol for responding to domestic violence calls, appropriate responses for teens encountering dating violence and the relationship between domestic violence and substance abuse.

A special presentation on the Illinois Department of Human Services's Partner Abuse Intervention Programs will be offered by a team of experts who will explore the definition of abuse, the underlying motivation for abuse, available treatments for violent offenders and the role of community-based responses.

Judge Riley, chair of the Sixth Municipal District's Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council, said the Council will launch a cell phone collection drive at the conference in cooperation with the Motorola Company's Call to Protect program. The nationwide program provides donated wireless phones and accessories to victims of domestic violence to facilitate speedy access to 9-1-1 emergency protection.

The conference will also feature the Illinois Silent Witness Exhibit and the Clothesline Project, traveling art exhibits that commemorate women victims of violence. More than twenty public and private agencies will provide booth displays as well.

For more conference information, please contact Susana E. Guzmán, local coordinator for the Sixth Municpal District's IFVCC, at 708.210.4046.