I have not posted anything in the past couple of days because I have been busy beyond belief working on several projects that are due to be released in the next few weeks.

One of the projects that I have been working on for over a year now is called the Chicago Youth Justice Data Project. This initiative is connected to the work of my organization. I will have more to say about the Chicago Youth Justice Data Project in November when it is officially launched.

I am a proponent and believer in what some call “open source knowledge.” By definition, this means that I do not subscribe to the concept of proprietary knowledge (particularly by the State/Government). It is my belief that all information and knowledge is to be shared and transferred to create strong social movements for change and transformation.

To that end, for those of you who live in Chicago, you might be interested in a new neighborhood-specific report that my organization has produced called the 2009 Rogers Park Juvenile Justice Snapshot.

Special thanks to the incomparable Jennifer Wisniewski who basically donated her considerable graphic design skills to make the report visually beautiful!

Below are two versions of the report that you can download if interested:

Jennifer’s Beautiful Version of the Report

Rogers Park 2009 Juvenile Justice Snapshot – BASIC NO FRILLS VERSION

Below are some key findings from the report:

Juvenile Arrests in District 24 by Age

In 2009, there were 546 arrests of youth ages 10-16 reported in the 24^th district; 16 years olds made up the largest share of these arrests (245).

Juvenile Arrests in District 24 by Race

The vast majority of youth arrested in the 24^th district were African American (401).

Juvenile Arrest Dispositions for District 24

The majority of youth arrested in the 24^th district were referred to court.