Teen Court's Lolita Junk a 'Good Neighbor'

Gets $10,000 grant for her charity

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

By JOHN R. PULLIAM

The Register-Mail

GALESBURG - Lolita Junk, founder of Knox County Teen Court, has helped more than 1,500 juvenile nonviolent, first-time offenders get a second chance for a clean record by holding them accountable for their actions.

Junk, real estate broker with Diversified Real Estate Services/GMAC, Galesburg, has been named one of five recipients of the Good Neighbor Awards by REALTOR Magazine, the official publication of the National Association of Realtors. She will receive a $10,000 grant for her charity.

The money is a godsend, as Teen Court has struggled financially since its inception in 1995.

"I'm so excited," Junk said when contacted by phone Monday.

Asked how important the money is to Teen Court - which is sponsored by the Ralph M. Noble American Legion Post 285 Auxiliary - she answered, "Oh, my golly. We're going to be able to expand our counseling."

She said she would like to use some of the money to have a recognition event for the teens, volunteers, staff and attorneys. Junk said that has never been possible because the money was not available.

"I would love to have another newsletter," she said. "We've had two since we've been in existence."

REALTOR Magazine's Good Neighbor Awards, in its seventh year, had more than 300 entries this year - an all-time high.

The magazine announced in August that Junk was one of 10 semi-finalists.

"It's overwhelming," Junk said, "when we realize our program was selected from over 300 programs. It was pretty awesome."

"Teen Court is an integral part of the criminal justice system in Knox County," says local attorney Steve Watts, who has served as a Teen Court judge and has been president of the board of directors for nine years.

Since Junk started Knox County Teen Court, more than 130 programs have started in Illinois. The recidivism rate was around 8 percent, "which is unusually low," says Junk.

In addition, the first ever training summit on youth courts was held in Galesburg in June 2005. Individuals from 35 counties already part of various types of youth court or considering beginning one attended the summit at the Best Western Prairie Inn.

"Early intervention gives students a great opportunity to change their lives," says Junk. "I didn't realize what a difference this program could make until I started hearing from teens themselves who have gone on to lead productive lives because of their experience with Teen Court."

This year's grants are the largest ever awarded. Winners also will receive a trophy and the right to use the Good Neighbor Awards logo on their Web site and in promotional materials. In addition, the recipients and a guest will be sent, expenses paid, to the 2006 REALTORS Conference and Expo in New Orleans in November, when they will receive their awards in front of an audience of 6,000.

"The rewards that I have gained," Junk said. "I couldn't put them into words."

She said while she was waiting one evening at the courthouse for a video crew to arrive and tape Teen Court, a woman came said both of her sons went through Knox County Teen Court. She told Junk that both are now in the military and would not have been eligible if their records had not been wiped clean because of completing Teen Court. The woman showed Junk a picture of the two young men in their Navy uniforms.

"Two past volunteers in our program are back as attorneys," she said. Neither of the young women had any interest in becoming lawyers before volunteering in the Teen Court program.

On Nov. 11, during the Conference and Expo in New Orleans, which Junk and the other four winners will attend, former Presidents George Herbert Walker Bush and Bill Clinton will deliver the keynote addresses.