| 2000: |
The Commission released a special Gun Violence report covering 25 facets related to gun violence in the Chicago Metropolitan area. The Commission was an active partner in the Chicago Department of Public Health’s Prevent Violence Chicago effort, the State’s Attorney of Cook County’s Commission on Juvenile Competency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' LPS Program designed to introduce high school students to careers in law enforcement and criminal justice. The Commission released a list of more than 15 corporate sponsors of Web pages of Chicago’s most violent street gangs. It called upon to exercise greater responsibility in choosing where to spend their advertising dollars and those organizations whom to associate their name. Also, the Commission highlighted 30 fugitives on the televised Chicago’s Most Wanted program resulting in the capture of five fugitives. The Commission reviewed the needs of five Cook County Court facilities and provided resulting recommendations in its testimony to the Cook County Board of Commissioners, while also calling for the formation of a task force on the Re-codification of the Illinois Criminal Laws. The Commission also continued its efforts to combat any organized crime involvement in the proposed casino in Rosemont. |
| 2001: |
The Commission began its Community Youth Program, a pilot program to redirect first-time juvenile offenders. A conference on Anti-Terrorism, Threat Assessment and Vulnerability Analysis for High Rise Structures was held. The Commission explored and reported on the ease with which terrorists or other criminals might be able to secure false identification over the Internet. The Commission’s Chief Investigator researched the state of Homicide Investigation in Cook County, which resulted in a number of recommendations. In addition, the Commission’s Chief Investigator provided detailed testimony and information to the Illinois Gaming Board regarding questionable associations of individuals involved in the proposed Emerald Casino deal. The Commission inventoried and estimated the deterioration of its 82-year collection of valuable organized crime records, in order to explore options for digitizing the collection. |
| 2002: |
The Commission was selected to be the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Community Engagement Partner. PSN is a gun violence-reduction program involving numerous law enforcement and criminal justice partners. The CCC’s Community Youth Program provided data to the Chicago Police on the assessment and service linkage of first time offenders. The CCC also became the lead agency in piloting the Neighborhood Restorative Justice Mediation Program in Cook County, a conflict resolution program providing an alternative to juvenile court. The CCC’s Administration of Justice Committee reviewed the Report of the Governor’s Commission on Capital Punishment Recommendations Only and released its endorsement of most of its content and its comments on other items. The CCC held a conference for finance related industries on cyber-crime.
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| 2003: |
The Commission formed the first inclusive task force addressing child exploitation: The Coalition Against the Exploitation, Prostitution and Trafficking of Children. The CCC joined the Illinois Integrated Justice Information System Implementation Board and committees in an effort to enhance statewide information sharing and quality between law enforcement and criminal justice agencies. A Presentation on Financial Statement Fraud, a seminar on Protection From Business Fraud and a presentation on Espionage & Conspiracy: Robert Hanssen were held. The CCC met with the Chairman and Administrator of the Illinois Gaming board to express its concerns regarding the Emerald Casino Settlement Agreement. |
| 2004: |
The Community Youth Program Process Evaluation was completed, and Loyola University agreed to work on the outcomes of that evaluation. A one-day conference for 300 individuals was held on Child Prostitution and Exploitation. Research began on Gangs in the Chicago Metropolitan Area report. The Commission and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office worked together on RAV2: Reduce Animal Violence, Reduce All Violence. RAV2 educates criminal-justice and law-enforcement personnel on the links between human violence and animal cruelty and on new animal cruelty legislation that may (when appropriately used) be used as a tool to confront gangs, guns, and drugs. Gang Education Training was provided to students from 20 Chicago schools and to other agencies. Again, the Commission provided testimony to the Illinois Gaming Board regarding the Emerald Casino situation. How to Avoid Identity Theft recommendations were disseminated through the Commission’s Action Alert Newsletter while Avoiding Employee Theft was detailed for more than 200 chambers of commerce through the Commission’s Business Assistance Bulletin. |
| 2005: |
The Commission continued its work on child exploitation and trafficking by partnering with the Salvation Army and Juvenile Court of Cook County's PROMISE task force and the statewide Rescue and Restore Steering Committee. The Commission's Coalition Against the
Exploitation, Prostitution and Trafficking of Children held a three-day Human Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation National Training Seminar for 100 law-enforcement and criminal-justice professionals. The Commission provided law enforcement with intelligence on the events and locations and times for the national "pimp awards", known as the Player's Ball, which resulted in many of the pimps' events being cancelled. The Commission developed a new media campaign for the highly successful gun-reduction program - Project Safe Neighborhoods. Also, the Commission provided testimony to the Illinois House Judiciary Committee for Senate Bill 0092 to create a new department of juvenile justice, basically separating juvenile corrections from adult corrections. The Community Youth Program Outcomes information - more than 500 pieces of information on 100 children - was entered into a research database. Eighty-three Chicago-area suburban police departments completed a CCC survey on gang activity in their areas. The Commission was a partner in planning the Illinois Integrated Justice Information Statewide Summit. The Commission advocated against the addition of Keno machines in bars and restaurants without appropriate regulation and a serious review of its effects in Illinois. An Identity Theft Presentation was developed and made available to corporate audiences. The Family Secrets Investigation - which led to the indictment of numerous well-known organized crime figures - brought enormous media attention to the Commission as it had provided archival information that greatly assisted the investigative efforts leading to indictments over the years.
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| 2006: |
While continuing the activities noted in 2005, in June 2006, the Commission released its nationally acclaimed The Gang Book, a concise yet detailed guide developed in partnership with local, state, and federal law enforcement, the Chicago public schools and others. The Gang Book received media attention from almost every newspaper, radio station, and television station and spurred the introduction of legislation and new partnerships between law enforcement, particularly with regard to suburban gangs. In September, the Commission launched its anonymous Web-based and automated telephone crime reporting system, specially designed for government employees and citizens. The well-received www.888eyeongov.org website and 1-888-Eye-On-Gov hotline receive allegations of corruption from throughout the United States.
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2007:
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Throughout 2007, the Chicago Crime Commission moved forward to spotlight current issues and offer 21st century solutions. Working in partnership with law enforcement, community, and civic organizations, we:
•raised awareness of the involvement of gangs in mortgage fraud, identity theft, and the military.
•provided training to the military on how to conduct long-term organized crime investigations.
•provided training to local law-enforcement agencies and gang crime experts on organized crime.
•provided training to local law-enforcement agencies on gangs.
•helped school resource officers identify potential gang activity in their schools, and provided on-site training.
•raised awareness of potential organized crime infiltration and resulting public corruption should local government own and operate a casino. Spearheading the coalition effort, successfully prevented passage of massive gambling expansion legislation in the fall of 2007 and the spring of 2008.
•published Friend and Foe, a 20th century decade-by-decade pictorial review of law enforcement successes and failures, to spur discussion of current initiatives.
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