Criminal Justice Advisory Committee

Overview

The Criminal Justice Advisory Committee (CJAC) uses research, advocacy, legislative proposals, technical assistance, and project management to improve all areas of our criminal justice system – all with the primary focus being on decarceration, justice, and racial equity. CJAC’s work varies widely and includes everything from the ensuring the enforcement of core constitutional rights to evaluating and designing individual Cook County programs. The Committee works in partnership with various stakeholders, including law practitioners, community groups, advocates, academics, and other experts, helps lead the Coalition to End Money Bond, and works with the Coalition #ChallengingEcarceration to develop fair and effective solutions to address systemic problems. Informed by invaluable community-based support, CJAC helps develop the manageable implementation plans necessary to bring about meaningful permanent change.

 

Co-Chairs: Alexandra Block, Jonathan Pilsner, & Margaret Truesdale

Monthly Meetings: 3rd Thursday at 12:00 PM.

Click here to join the Committee.

 

Current Projects

Our criminal justice work focuses primarily on decarceration, diversion, alternatives to incarceration, pretrial justice, and the equitable and fair administration of justice.

Below please find information on our ongoing projects and collaborative initiatives; for information on our past projects and other partnerships, view the Committee’s full publication library here.

Access to Counsel and Civil Rights

• Nationwide Jurisdictional Survey of the Right to Communicate After Arrest (July 2021)
• Examination of the Quality and Capacity of Stationhouse Representation in Cook County (August 2020)
• Ensuring the Public Defense of Indigent Criminal Defendants in Cook County  (August 2015)
• Memo & Proposed General Order: Constitutional Violations in Cook County: Denying A Public Defender to Indigent Criminal Defendants Who Post Bond (June 2013)

Bond Reform, Electronic Monitoring, and Pretrial Fairness

• 10 Facts about Pretrial Electronic Monitoring in Cook County (September 2021)
• Monitoring Cook County’s Central Bond Court: A Community Courtwatching Initiative (February 2018)
• Principles of Bail Reform in Cook County (April 2017)
• Legislation Policy Brief: Proposal to Reduce Time to Preliminary Hearings (2014)
• Pre-Trial Delay and Length of Stay in Cook County Jail (October 2013)
• Policy Brief: Early Criminal Case Assessment in Urban Jurisdictions (August 2012)

Combating Court Costs, Fines, and Fees

• Court Costs, Fines, and Fees are Bad Policy: Recommendations for Illinois Legislators (July 2020)
• Common Issues with Criminal Court Fines, Fees, and Costs in Cook County: A practice guide for criminal defense attorneys (January 2018)
• Statement on Excessive Court Fines, Fees, and Costs (May 2016)

Cook County Felony Courts, Diversion, and Community Courts

• Cook County E-Court: Evaluating the Circuit Court’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Looking Toward the Future (August 2020)
• Illinois Supreme Court Proposal: Going to Scale: Coordinating Criminal Justice Reform in Cook County (September 2013)
• Policy Brief: Community Courts in Cook County, Part I and Policy Brief: Community Courts in Cook County, Part II (February 2013)
• Policy Brief: Use of Data in Criminal Court Performance Measurement (November 2012)
• Strategies to Enhance and Coordinate Cook County Diversion Programs (June 2012)
• Cook County Diversion Court: Proposal and Implementation Plan (October 2010)
• A Report on Chicago’s Felony Courts (December 2007)

Prosecutorial Accountability and Transparency 

• Decarcerating Cook County: Use of Diversion Programs for Low-Level, “Non-Violent” Felonies Increased Substantially Under Kim Foxx Compared to Anita Alvarez (March 2021)
• Prosecutorial Discretion in a Tumultuous Year: A Report on the Impact of Prosecutorial Discretion on Incarceration Rates in Cook County (September 2020)
• Data Show Major Decreases in Felony Charges, Incarceration Rates for Black and Latinx Residents in Cook County since 2017 (February 2020)
• Creating a Culture of Fairness and Accountability: Defense Attorneys Report of Kim Foxx’s Progress toward Transforming the Priorities of Her Office (October 2019)
• Sentences of Incarceration Decline Sharply, Public Safety Improves during Kim Foxx’s Second Year in Office: New data portal demonstrates benefit of criminal justice reform, transparency (July 2019)
• Exercising Full Powers: Recommendations to Kim Foxx on Addressing Systemic Racism in the Cook County Criminal Justice System (January 2019)
• A Step in the Right Direction: An Analysis of Felony Prosecution Data in Cook County (May 2018)
• In Pursuit of Justice for All: An Evaluation of Kim Foxx’s First Year in Office (December 2017)