Collaboration for Justice
Updates and insights from the Collaboration for Justice initiative, highlighting partnerships, programs, and efforts to strengthen fairness, accountability, and public trust in the legal system.
Driving For Opportunity Act
The bipartisan Driving for Opportunity Act of 2021 creates incentives to states to end debt-based drivers’ license suspensions. It is moving through Congress this month and we are hopeful it will move through Committee with [...]
REPORT: 10 Facts about Pretrial Electronic Monitoring in Cook County
The Chicago Council of Lawyers and Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts have released a report, 10 Facts about Pretrial Electronic Monitoring in Cook County, which catalogs data-based facts about the Cook County Sheriff’s Electronic Monitoring (EM) [...]
VICTORY: Appellate Court Rules to Preserve the Sanctity of Survivor Privileges in Illinois
On Friday, July 10, Chicago Appleseed and Chicago Council of Lawyers submitted an amicus brief in the Illinois Appellate case of People v. Gomez-Ramirez (AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center, Bolingbrook, and Alexian Brothers-AHS Midwest Region Health Co., Contemnors-Appellants). Our pro bono [...]
Advocates’ Letter to Cook County Circuit Court: Seal Eviction Court Filings to Promote Fair and Accessible Justice
The Chicago Council of Lawyers and Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts have joined Access Living, Beyond Legal Aid, Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, the Chicago Urban League, Chicago Volunteer [...]
Safeguarding Privacy Rights of Domestic Violence Survivors
People v. Gomez-Ramirez Case Description On June 16, oral arguments began in the Illinois appellate case of People v. Gomez-Ramirez (AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center, Bolingbrook, and Alexian Brothers-AHS Midwest Region Health Co., Contemnors-Appellants). The case, which [...]
Thank you for supporting our Pro Bono Spotlight!
Every year, our Collaboration for Justice of the Chicago Council of Lawyers and Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts hosts a Pro Bono Spotlight event. This year, we featured two two virtual events to celebrate [...]
Findings: Access to Diversion Programs for Low-Level, “Non-Violent” Felonies has Improved since Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx Took Office
The Chicago Council of Lawyers and our collaboration partners, Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts, have again joined The People’s Lobby and Reclaim Chicago to release the eighth report in our series on prosecutorial accountability [...]
VICTORY: Governor Pritzker Abolishes Money Bail by Signing HB 3653 – The SAFE-T Act – into Law
On Monday, February 22, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed HB 3653 SFA2: the SAFE-T (Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity – Today) Act. The bill was sponsored in the 101st General Assembly by Senator Robert Peters, Senator Elgie [...]
Letter to Governor Pritzker: Support for HB 3653
On January 13, 2021, the Illinois General Assembly passed a historic criminal justice reform package (presented by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus). Among the many provisions in the 764 page bill is the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) – a [...]
Waiting for Justice: An examination of the Cook County Criminal Court backlog in the age of COVID-19
People – both those accused and the victims of crime – are waiting increasingly long periods of time for justice, as COVID-19 has slowed court processing to a crawl.
