Chicago and Cook County Violence Against Women Task Force High Priority Data and Research Working Group Meeting - June 22, 2026

This working group meeting, held on June 22, 2026, featured a comprehensive presentation from the Cook County Sheriff's Office on its role in domestic violence response, including order of protection service, Karina's Law enforcement, and firearm restraining orders. The presentation covered process flows, data on service rates, recent technological improvements, and future initiatives. The meeting included a question-and-answer session with task force members.

Presentation: Cook County Sheriff's Office Domestic Violence Response

• Deputy Chief of Staff Gitu Nayek, joined by senior policy and operations staff, presented an overview of the Sheriff's Office involvement in domestic violence response. The Sheriff's Office operates the third largest police department in Illinois with over 500 officers covering unincorporated Cook County. Key units include the Civil Process Unit, Victim Support Services Unit, and specialized domestic violence liaisons.
• The presentation detailed the order of protection (OP) service process: after a judge issues an order, the clerk transmits it to the Sheriff's Civil Process Unit. Orders are entered into the Illinois State Police LEADS database (statewide visibility) and the National Crime Information Center (nationwide visibility). The Sheriff's internal system (ISTAR) and the newer "grid" app, which won a COP tech award in 2024, are used for dispatching orders to the nearest available deputy based on address, workload, and prioritization.
• Service goals: first attempt same day as issuance, second attempt within 24 hours, minimum three attempts within 72 hours. If unsuccessful, the intel unit develops alternative locations. The grid app increased same-day attempts from fewer than 3% to routinely 70–75% (73% as of April 2026).
• Data from a recent ISTAR audit: 2,560 orders were served by the Sheriff's Office and 963 served by other means (including short-form notifications). Average monthly orders served increased 21% after grid app implementation (from 760 per month). For orders not served, 92.9% were due to inability to contact the respondent; 57% of those received five or more attempts (average 4.82 attempts).
• Karina's Law (effective May 11, 2025 to May 9, 2026): 1,526 surrender orders received, 844 enforced by civil process; 75 firearms recovered from 43 unique surrender orders. Three seizure warrants received, two executed. Firearm restraining orders: 11 received, six enforced by the office, four search warrants executed, 22 firearms recovered.
• Future improvements: short-form notification portal, digital confidential information form (pilot kiosks at Markham courthouse), wellness checks for petitioners, expanded electronic transmission from the clerk's office, and continued data sharing efforts.

Discussion and Q&A

• Commissioner Miller asked about training of judges on the chief judges portal. Gitu Nayek reported that 16–20 judicial staff from the domestic violence courthouse were trained in summer 2025, and 22 domestic relations judges attended a demo in March 2026. Training is optional.
• Cynthia asked how survivors sign up for the survivor portal; Nayek explained that the PIN is created on the confidential information form (part of the petition packet).
• Trees asked about the digital kiosk requiring a case number; Colin (from the Sheriff's Office) noted that the case number is not required—names are matched. Nayek added that the pilot is still in the planning stage.
• Nancy asked about the source of information on the confidential information sheet; Nayek confirmed it comes directly from the petitioner. Nancy also asked about the 7% of not-served orders not due to contact failure; Nayek said she would follow up with specifics.
• Sarah Brown asked whether sheriff's police and other police can enforce remedies; Joe Belletier clarified that under state statute, any law enforcement officer can enforce remedies (e.g., return of minor, exclusive possession, firearm surrender) while serving a short-form notification, but the Sheriff's Office typically assigns enforcement to its civil process unit for consistency.

Key Outcomes

• The working group received a detailed update on Sheriff's Office operations, data, and improvements. No votes or formal actions were taken.
• The Sheriff's Office invited task force members to visit its civil process unit for a walk-through, similar to a previous visit by Commissioner Naya.
• Questions from the task force were answered during the meeting; additional follow-up questions were to be directed to the Sheriff's Office via email.
• The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 PM by Alderman Tabaras.