Former juvenile jail superintendent lived in Chicago, report says

An outside investigation into the former head of the Cook County juvenile detention center determined he maintained legal residency in Illinois despite owning property and voting in Michigan, according to a report newly released by the Cook County chief judge’s office.

According to the report, attorneys at the law firm Zuber Lawler reviewed bank statements, utility bills and other records showing Leonard Dixon leased an apartment in Chicago during his decade-long tenure as superintendent. They also determined he had government-issued identification cards including a Chicago CityKey ID and a state Firearm Owner’s Identification card, using the same address.

An Injustice Watch investigation last year found property records that raised questions about whether Dixon lived in Cook County, as required by his employment contract. His boss, then-Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans, hired the law firm to investigate Dixon’s residency after Injustice Watch began asking questions about it.

On the day Injustice Watch published its investigation, Evans’ office issued a statement saying only that the law firm had found Dixon “resides in Illinois.” Evans declined to release the full report, citing attorney-client privilege.

Dixon stepped down in December. After taking over as chief judge last month, Charles Beach, whose surprise victory ended Evans’ 24-year tenure at the top of the court, authorized the report’s release.

Advocates say the delayed release of the report highlights the lack of transparency in the court system, which, unlike most other public agencies, is not subject to the state’s Freedom of Information Act. That leaves decisions about disclosure of information at the whim of the chief judge, said Elizabeth Monkus, a senior attorney with the Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts.

“These are our courts. This is a branch of our government,” Monkus said. “It should not be permitted, particularly in this day and age, to operate in secrecy.”

Lawyers examined voter registration and Michigan tax exemption

Injustice Watch previously found records showing Dixon had been registered to vote in Michigan since 1995, and has voted absentee consistently since 2012.

According to the report, when Dixon was questioned about his Michigan voter registration, he said “he never thought he would be [in Chicago] this long.” The attorneys noted that Dixon had voted only in presidential elections, not in local races, suggesting “limited civic engagement” there.

Injustice Watch also found records showing Dixon and his wife have owned a house in Woodhaven, Mich., for which they have received a property tax break reserved for a homeowner’s principal residence for the past 30 years. Dixon previously ran the juvenile detention center in Detroit.

The report confirms Dixon owned property in Michigan and Florida. But Dixon’s wife told the law firm that the couple considers Chicago their primary residence while traveling to Michigan on the weekends.

Michigan law requires homeowners claiming a principal residence to “dwell either permanently or continuously at a property and use the property as his or her principal residence,” according to guidelines published by the state treasury department.

In a follow-up report from Zuber Lawler responding to Injustice Watch’s reporting about the exemption, attorneys pointed out that a person could face legal consequences if they claimed a Michigan homestead exemption while primarily residing in Illinois. The report noted Illinois employers are not obligated to report discrepancies in homestead tax exemptions by their employees.

Records show the exemption saved Dixon and his wife more than $13,000 in property taxes since 2015. Dixon declined to comment for this story, but he previously told Injustice Watch he lived in Chicago.

Injustice Watch also interviewed nine current and former employees of the detention center who all said Dixon was rarely seen at the facility.

However, the attorneys said interviews with Dixon’s executive assistant and deputy superintendent suggested Dixon maintained a regular presence at the facility.

Assistant Superintendent William Steward, who has since replaced Dixon as acting superintendent, told the attorneys he saw Dixon in person three to four times a week, including occasionally on weekends. He described Dixon as being present “almost every day.”

Zuber Lawler concluded Dixon maintained “legal domicile in Illinois,” but recommended he update his voter registration “to ensure consistency across all legal documents and eliminate this potential source of challenge.”

Beach has announced he is putting off a search for a permanent replacement for Dixon until he hires a director of juvenile services, a newly created position that will supervise the juvenile detention center superintendent and the chief juvenile probation officer.