{"id":4218,"date":"2023-04-04T18:49:49","date_gmt":"2023-04-04T18:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chicagocouncil.org\/staging\/1601\/?p=4218"},"modified":"2023-04-04T18:49:50","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T18:49:50","slug":"civil-asset-forfeiture-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chicagocouncil.org\/staging\/1601\/civil-asset-forfeiture-report\/","title":{"rendered":"NEW REPORT | I Don\u2019t Know Why I\u2019m Here: Observations from Cook County\u2019s Civil Asset Forfeiture Courtrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers are excited to announce the release of our newest court-watching report, <\/em>I Don\u2019t Know Why I\u2019m Here: Observations from Cook County\u2019s Civil Asset Forfeiture Courtrooms<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From March to August of 2022, our volunteer court-watchers<\/a> observed 230 civil asset forfeiture calls in the County Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Court-watchers noted a number of stakeholder concerns around innocent owners, support for self-represented property owners, procedural efficiency, and more, and brought up concerns of their own.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0examines those issues and discusses possible next steps.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is civil asset forfeiture?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Civil asset forfeiture (CAF) is a process whereby police agencies take people\u2019s private property including cash and vehicles if they are suspected of being involved in a crime. CAF is a different process from criminal forfeiture, which takes place in the criminal court, because a person does not need to have been convicted of a crime to have their property taken. In other words, a person\u2019s actual guilt or innocence is irrelevant in the civil asset forfeiture process.<\/strong> A person\u2019s criminal case can even be dropped and their property still be taken as long as the search was justified by probable cause. Since law enforcement are able to take people\u2019s property without the usual checks and balances of the law that exist in criminal court, CAF has been called \u201clegalized theft\u201d<\/a> by experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is it a racial and economic equity issue?<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Civil Asset Forfeiture laws were originally created to cripple large organized crime and drug trafficking activities<\/a>. However, as the law has been used outside of those parameters, and now, CAF is used against some of the most marginalized communities. Advocates and scholars have criticized <\/a>CAF not only for violating people\u2019s right to due process but also because it disproportionately harms low-income communities of color and creates a financial incentive for police departments to seize civilian\u2019s assets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where does the money go?<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) seized a total of 1,694 assets valued at over $8 million.<\/a> The money earned by the sale of these assets bolsters law enforcement agencies\u2019 funding. CPD does not disclose to the public how they use civil asset forfeiture funds. In 2016, the Chicago Reader<\/em> described<\/a> CPD\u2019s forfeiture fund as an \u201coff-the-books stream of income.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Illinois reformed CAF law in 2019<\/a>, CAF continues to be a concerning feature of Illinois state law. Despite making strides to improve CAF law, Illinois CAF laws continue to be problematic.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In a 2020 report<\/a>, the Institute for Justice describes Illinois law enforcement as having a large profit incentive because 90% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.  <\/sup>Police departments continue to have a large incentive to use CAF in order to fund themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can be done about civil asset forfeiture?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Civil asset forfeiture is a confusing, costly, and lengthy process that is ineffective at deterring crime, does not have an impact on crime rates, and disproportionately harms lower-income people of color.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Given these concerns, our court-watchers observed 230 civil asset forfeiture cases in Cook County. Among other things, our findings show:<\/p>\n\n\n\n