When the Illinois Department of Corrections was created in 1970, its Juvenile Division assumed the duties of the Illinois Youth Commission: the annual Governor's Conference on Youth, publications on substance abuse, child abuse and delinquency prevention, the Illinois Junior Sports Jamboree, surveying the detention of juveniles in county jails, and the Chicago Area Project.

Series I: includes planning records, programs, meeting minutes, correspondence, memos, clippings, press releases, and attendance lists of the annual Governor's Conference on Youth (1961-1972); reports, brochures and newsletters of the Chicago Area Project (1943-1976); copies of legislation on juvenile justice and of juvenile court actions; and collected literature on juvenile delinquency, drug abuse and related topics from Illinois and other states, from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Series II: 32 audio tapes from the Governor's Conference on Youth, 1965-1971. Speakers include Governor Otto Kerner, Jackie Robinson, and Beto.

Series III: Ten 16 mm and one 8 mm film regarding juvenile delinquency and its causes and prevention, 1944-1966. Of note are two films made by the Illinois Department of Public Welfare, "Our Most Precious Possessions," and "Big Brother" (ca. 1947). Other films were produced by the Illinois Youth Commission, National Women's Christian Temperance Center, Wheaties Sports Federation, Athletic Institute Press, and the National Welfare Association. Titles include "That Boy Joe" (1944), "Make Way for Youth" (1947), and "Boy With a Knife," (1956).