Contact Katie Thrun, Community Restitution Work Supervisor Ph: (847) 289-2553

Focus
Trash pick-up in parks, neighborhoods, the Central Business District, and the entryways to the city is a major focus of the program's efforts. The program also works closely with many other city departments to assist them with projects they have throughout the city.

Program Hours
The Program runs six days a week (Monday - Saturday) between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and every other Saturday from 7:30 a.m. -3:30 p.m.

About the Program
The Community Restitution Program consists of adults who are referred to the Elgin Police Department either directly by a judge or through the Kane County Probation Department.

The defendants can be referred for a wide variety of offenses, including both misdemeanors and felonies. The largest number of referrals are for traffic-related and first-time offenses.

History
The Community Restitution Service Program was started in 1992 by former Elgin Police Lt. J.W. Smith and modeled after Cook County Sheriff's Work Alternative Program (SWAP). The original funding for the program was obtained through a Community Development Block Grant, which was initiated by Lt. Smith with the approval of former Police Chief Charles Gruber.

The program's objectives were to provide a symbolic restitution to the community through physical labor, offer a positive work experience for the offender, and to make use of a viable sentencing alternative for the Elgin and Kane County courts.