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Navigating Pretrial Reform: Cook County’s Approach to Misdemeanor Risk and Supervision of Domestic Violence Cases
SESSION INFO
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
Session Type: Workshop
This session provides an overview of how Cook County’s Social Service Department (SSD) delivers pretrial services and supervision for misdemeanor DV cases following implementation of the Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act on September 18, 2023. Participants will learn how pre-release and post-release units operate within the SSD Pretrial Services Division and how risk is assessed using the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) and the Domestic Violence Screening Instrument (DVSI). The session highlights supervision strategies for misdemeanor domestic violence cases, discusses emerging trends since PFA implementation, and how electronic monitoring is used as a supervision tool. Relevant data will be incorporated to illustrate key points and support discussion.
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SESSION PRESENTERS
Troy Amato
Regional Manager - Pretrial Unit, Circuit Court of Cook County Social Service Department
Troy Amato has been with the Circuit Court of Cook County Social Service Department since 1999. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Counseling having previously worked as a High School Guidance Counselor and baseball coach. Troy has been with the Pretrial Service Unit since its inception in 2017 and is currently serving as a Regional Manager, overseeing 9 Supervisors and 75 Pretrial Officers. He has been active in staff development and the implementation of policies and procedures for the unit. He has also been instrumental in the Social Service Department’s implementation of the Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act which was enacted on September 18, 2023. During the Democratic National Convention in August of 2024, he led a team of Pretrial Officers who worked in collaboration with judicial stakeholders to provide a safe and orderly pretrial court system. Troy is a member of NAPSA and in his spare time enjoys playing golf and traveling to see friends and family.
Ms. Samantha Thiesse
Supervisor - Pretrial Unit, Circuit Court of Cook County Social Service Department
Samantha (aka Sammi) Thiesse has been with the Circuit Court of Cook County Social Service Department since 2017. Sammi has dedicated her career to the Pretrial Service Division, having served as a Pretrial Officer for 5 years. She was later promoted to Pretrial Supervisor in 2022 and has remained an essential part of the Pretrial Service Division’s success. She serves as a trainer for new and existing staff, a contributor to several department committees and has been an active member of IPCSA since 2017, APPA since 2015 and NAPSA since 2020. In 2022, she revamped the department’s pretrial training curriculum for new officers and maintains updates to the curriculum as new information becomes available. In 2021, she was nominated for and received the IPCSA Distinguished Service Award for her significant contributions to the department. In 2024, she was nominated for and accepted as a workgroup member of the Illinois Supreme Court’s Judicial College Committee on Pretrial Education to develop and promote comprehensive pretrial education curricula for system partners throughout the state.
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