Pictured left to right are Leland Grove Police Chief Mark Gleason, Joliet Police Chief Fred Hayes, Fulton County Sheriff Jeff Standard, Morgan County Sheriff Randy Duvendack, State Senator John Millner, Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, Channahon Police Chief Joe Pena, Algonquin Police Chief Russ Laine, Ogle County State’s Attorney Ben Roe, and Lemont Police Chief Kevin Shaughnessy. (Courtesy photo)

Restore cuts to early childhood programs to prevent future crime

Springfield — Ogle County State’s Attorney Ben Roe traveled to the State Capitol in Springfield Thursday to urge legislative leaders and the Governor to restore cuts to early childhood programs that prevent crime. Roe joined other police chiefs, sheriffs and state’s attorneys from across the state in meetings with both Democrat and Republican legislative leaders and key officials.

As legislators begin budget deliberations, the law enforcement leaders urged that the state’s preschool and home-visiting programs be protected, and expressed concern that last year’s 10 percent cut left programs across the state struggling to maintain their services.

They also asked that the sunset date on the state’s Preschool for All program be removed before it expires in June.

“We know that high quality preschool and home-visiting programs work to prevent child abuse and stop crime before it starts,” said Roe. “The budget this year will call for tough choices, but we must not compromise public safety.”

The law enforcement leaders represented over 300 law enforcement leaders who are members of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Illinois, an anti-crime organization that advocates for evidence-based investments in programs for kids that are proven to cut crime and violence. The group met with Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, House Minority Leader Tom Cross, and officials from the offices of Senate President John Cullerton, House Speaker Michael Madigan, and Governor Pat Quinn.

Law enforcement’s experience and rigorous research supports the value of preschool. A study of the Perry Preschool in Michigan tracked at-risk children who attended the program and similar children left out until age 40.  At age 27, those left out as children were five times more likely to have been arrested for drug felonies and twice as likely to have been arrested for violent crimes. The program saved $17 for every $1 invested, including $11 in crime savings.  Another study of the publicly funded Child-Parent Centers in Chicago, which have provided early care and education to more than 100,000 children since 1967, found that kids left out of the program were 70 percent more likely to have been arrested by age 18 than those who participated. Voluntary home visiting programs, which provide coaching to at-risk new parents, cut child abuse and future crime. A study of the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), a model home visiting program, found that the program cut child abuse and neglect in half and reduced kids’ and moms’ later arrests by about 60 percent.

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Illinois is the state office of a national, non-profit bipartisan, anti-crime organization of more than 5,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, leaders of law enforcement organizations, and victims of crime.  It has over 300 members in Illinois.