NEW: Future Justice Lawyers of Chicago Students’ Reports on the Criminal System, Immigration, and Healthcare in Jails & Prisons — Available Now!
We're thrilled to announce that the Future Justice Lawyers of [...]
SB 2447: Advancing Fairness in Illinois Court Costs, Assessments, and Fees
Chicago Appleseed has long fought for fairness in court fines and [...]
Pretextual Vehicle Stops—A Pipeline to Police Testilying
Pretextual traffic stops occur when an officer pulls over a driver for an alleged minor infraction – an expired registration tag, say, or a burned out taillight. But then the officer uses the stop as an excuse to fish for evidence of a crime unrelated to the original reason for the stop. As alleged in a proposed class action lawsuit filed in June by five Black and Latine motorists, Wilkins v. City of Chicago: “Traffic stops on the city’s predominantly Black and Latino South and West [S]ides…are typically for minor violations—or for no reason at all—and are a tool for officers to search and detain minority residents.”
NEW REPORT | One Size Doesn’t Fit All: A Review of Post-Plea Problem-Solving Courts in Cook County
This report focuses on Cook County’s “post-plea” diversion courts. Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers are excited to release our new report, One Size Doesn’t Fit All: A Review of Post-Plea Problem-Solving Courts in Cook County. In it, we offer a holistic picture of the scope of specialty (or “problem-solving”) courts, which have become an increasingly popular tool for lowering the number of people in prisons in the United States.
We’ve Joined 400+ Organizations in Urging the Illinois Supreme Court to Affirm the Constitutionality of the Pretrial Fairness Act
Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers have joined the 37 members of the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice and 389 other national, state, and local organizations in submitting an amicus brief to the Illinois Supreme Court in the case of Rowe vs. Raoul, which considers the constitutionality of the Pretrial Fairness Act. The brief, filed by the ACLU of Illinois and the law firm of Hughes, Socol, Piers, Resnick & Dym Ltd., argues forcefully that the Illinois Supreme Court should uphold the constitutionality of the Pretrial Fairness Act and allow the end of money bond to proceed in Illinois. We are proud to support the brief.
Amicus in People v. Moore: There is no justice when access is random or when the rules are unpredictable
In May, the Chicago Council of Lawyers joined an amicus brief submitted by the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in the Illinois Supreme Court case, People v. Moore. Our Collaboration for Justice is proud to add our support to the brief which argues for full access to justice for youth in incarceration.
“Organized Retail Theft” Bill is an Extreme Approach to an Imaginary Problem
This week, the Illinois Retail Merchants’ Association succeeded in convincing [...]
January 21, 2022: Public Comments to Chicago City Council’s Public Safety Committee in Opposition to the “Victims Justice Ordinance” (VJO)
On Friday, January 21, 2022, Program Manager & Policy Analyst [...]
REPORT: 10 Facts about Pretrial Electronic Monitoring in Cook County
The Chicago Council of Lawyers and Chicago Appleseed Center for [...]
Renewing Our Opposition of the Death Penalty and Calling for Action
During Donald Trump’s final seven months in the White House, [...]
