Blog
CCL Statement in Support of “Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act.”
May 22, 2013
The Chicago Council of Lawyers supports the “Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act,” Senate Bill 1587 Engrossed. Surveillance by drones can serve useful purposes but because they are small, quiet, highly maneuverable and can be deployed in secret, they are potential threats to privacy. The Bill does a good job of balancing those competing interests.
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Cook County Deprives Defendants of a Public Defense
May 01, 2013
Chicago, IL, May 1, 2013 — In courtrooms across Cook County, a Chicago Appleseed investigation has confirmed, defendants are being denied a public defense solely because they have posted bond to get out of jail. The denials come without a constitutionally required hearing on the defendant’s finances. In some cases, indigent defendants who post bond and do receive a public defense then have their bond money withheld to reimburse the Public Defender’s Office.
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Illinois & Cook County Primary Judicial Election Results
March 21, 2012
As of today, our Voteforjudges.org website received 518,000 hits since the beginning of this judicial evaluation season with about 17,000 unique visitors. This is exciting evidence of a concerned electorate! All in all, just TWO “Not Qualified” candidates running in a contest race were elected to the bench. Learn more about Illinois and Cook County Judicial Election Results at our blog.
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Blog: Smart Criminal Justice Policies Gain Momentum in Chicago, Cook County
November 03, 2011
County and City officials have taken bold yet prudent steps toward sensible, cost-effective public safety policies. The County has expanded use of electronic monitoring and the City is now considering issuing a fine in lieu of arrest for marijuana possession-a move many suburbs have already made. Both plans aim to relieve the mounting fiscal, political, and humanitarian costs imposed by crowded jails and overburdened police and courts. They also represent incremental steps toward fundamental, systemic reform.
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Anonymity and Integrity in Researching Judicial Performance
November 01, 2011
Recently, Chicago Appleseed was asked about unsolicited anonymous comments about judicial retention candidates and whether they play a role in the data collection for the Judicial Performance Commission of Cook County's (the JPC) evaluations. The integrity of our data is paramount and we strive to use only valid sources of feedback. Nonetheless, the most valuable commentary we can collect from survey respondents is candid, honest commentary. In our data collection effort, therefore, we balance the privacy needs of data sources against our need to verify their responses. You can read this entire statement over at our blog.
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Community-Involved Efforts Lead to Record CPS Attendance Level
September 12, 2011
Chicago Public Schools enjoyed a 94.7% attendance rate on the district's first day of school. The turnout this Tuesday marks a four-year high, and a jump from 92.9% last year. CPS attributes the turnout largely to coordinated efforts among the schools, community organizations, and families. One of the main causes of poor first-day attendance is [...] Read more about this over at our blog.
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CPS Principal Pay-for-Performance Plan Opens the Door for Community Schools
August 22, 2011
Merit pay is a notoriously tricky business. Reward short-term returns and you hang the future out to dry. Or, as we've seen in a growing number of school districts across the country, you run the risk of teachers and administrators taking shortcuts (ie, cheating) to grab the brass ring. Mayor Emmanuel has proposed an incentive [...]
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What We Read, August 12-19
August 19, 2011
Criminal Justice Court Reform: Even conservative states are adopting lighter sentencing policies in response to unsustainable prison costs, reports the New York Times. Matthew Iglesias questions the social, political, and economic rationale behind increasingly curtailing formerly incarcerated individuals' right to work. To read our staff picks, please be sure to visit our blog. Do you have some interesting articles you've read this week? Share them with us in the comments field.
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More incarceration does not equal less crime.
August 18, 2011
The ACLU posted a fascinating infographic this week. The above graphic compares the change incarceration rates and the change in crime rates from 1999 to 2009. Illinois' prison population has skyrocketed since 1970, but has not grown considerably in the past decade, as illustrated by this chart produced by the John Howard Association, a Chicago-based prison watchdog organization. Over on our blog, you can read more about the facts behind why prison is not the answer.
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