There was cheering and applause at a graduation in Chicago's south suburbs Monday as a group of young men walked out of a unique program -- not with a diploma, but with a clean criminal record.
The ceremony was held at the Edward W. Paesel Community Center in Sauk Village. The phrase "a second chance" was heard repeatedly.
Last year, Kendall Robinson made a vision board -- using the same kind of boards used in science fair presentations, but with a focus on his own personal goals.
"My main goal right now is focus on my money, focus on my faith, focus on getting my mind right," said Robinson said.
Robinson made the board shortly after he was charged with a gun crime.
"When I first got arrested, I thought that it was over with," Robinson said, "because the way that the officers came about it, they made it seem like it was a very hard charge."
Robinson felt deflated. But now, he feels uplifted -- thanks to Sauk Village's Restorative Justice Community Court. The program invites young men and women with nonviolent offenses on their records to make a change in their lives with peace circles, community service, and other activities -- with the promise that their crimes will get wiped off their records.
"We're proving that you can hold people accountable without putting them in cages," Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Jay Jackson told the graduates.
Jackson explained to the graduates that he is much happier dismissing their cases than prosecuting them.
"You're leaving here with a fresh start," Jackson said.
Graduate Devon Porter told the crowd he is now expired to become a lawyer. The program also helped Jadon Lewis get on track to become a forklift operator.
"This is an amazing, amazing system," Robinson said.
Robinson looks forward to opening up a business someday.
"I absolutely learned patience," he said. "I learned second chances are real."
At least year's ribbon-cutting, CBS News Chicago met Sauk Village resident David Fields Sr. He stuck with his pledge to volunteer with the program and became a peace circle leader.
CBS News Chicago found him grinning ear-to-ear at the graduation.
"Our participants, they pour their hearts and their souls out into here," Fields said. "They have goals that they have to meet, and once they accomplish, this is the ultimate prize -- the graduation."
A prize it is. Robinson described the moment.
"That plaque felt amazing. I really haven't really gotten too many awards, especially for something that's kind of big," he said. "But it definitely uplifted my spirit and uplifted my day."
This work is not over. Cook County currently runs four restorative justice courts -- in Sauk Village and in Chicago's Englewood, Avondale, and North Lawndale neighborhoods. Chief Judge Timothy Evans said he wants to expand the restorative justice community courts program to at least four more suburbs, and that plan should be finalized in two of those places in October.