chicago police department – Chicago Council of Lawyers

Pretextual Vehicle Stops—A Pipeline to Police Testilying

Our January 2023 police perjury report convincingly demonstrates that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) has a culture that condones dishonesty, prevalent lying in court (“testilying”) and, false report-writing by police officers. Along with recommendations to improve transparency (some of which ha...

Mayoral Candidates Answer Questions from Chicago’s Civil Rights Community

Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, and Loevy & Loevy asked Chicago’s 2023 mayoral candidates about critical civil rights issues to their communities. JUMP TO INTERACTIVE PAGE >> JUMP TO FULL RESPONSES >> The questionnair...

NEW REPORT: Fear and Silence – How Culture, Policy, and the ”Win At All Costs” Mentality Allows Police Testilying to Thrive

Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and Chicago Council of Lawyers work together to seek evidence-based solutions to social injustices. In early 2022, we began researching the issue of false reporting and police perjury — sometimes known as ”testilying” — in Circuit Court of Cook County. Our fi...

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 for Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers, Hanna Sharif-Kazemi, provided comments to the Chicago City Council’s Public Safety Committee in opposition of Mayor Lightfoot’s proposed “Victi...

Analysis: Proposals for Community Commissions for Public Safety and Accountability

The Chicago Council of Lawyers has analyzed two proposed ordinances to establish civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department (CPD). Both ordinances -- one proposed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot ("Mayor's Proposal") and one proposed by a group of community organizations ("Community's Proposal") --...

Demanding Justice for Adam Toledo

On March 29, 2021, a Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer shot and killed thirteen-year-old Adam Toledo after chasing him on foot in Little Village. The footage reflects a tragedy—a tragedy that did not have to happen, for the thirteen-year-old, for his family and friends, for the police officer...

Reallocating Priorities: Call for City of Chicago to Invest in Community-Based DV Prevention and Intervention

Chicago Council of Lawyers and Chicago Appleseed are happy to share The Network's campaign to fund domestic and sexual violence services. The Network has released a comprehensive report calling for the reallocation of $35-million from the budget of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) to community se...

STATEMENT CONDEMNING THE CONDUCT OF CHICAGO’S POLICE DURING PROTESTS

The Chicago Council of Lawyers was founded in 1969 by local lawyers, still reeling from the prior year’s Democratic National Convention, who were concerned about the fundamentally unfair policies and practices prevailing in Chicago and across the country. This weekend, nearly 700 people were arreste...

Ending Code of Silence Policies in the Chicago Police Department’s Collective Bargaining Agreements

The Coalition for Police Contracts Accountability (CPCA) offers recommendations to end the provisions in Chicago Police Department's Collective Bargaining Agreements that perpetuate the "Code of Silence" According to the Better Government Association (BGA), it was estimated in 2018 that the City...

Police Accountability in Chicago: Necessary Reforms

Imagine that a police officer shoots a fleeing suspect. Imagine further that in his official report, the officer falsely claims that the suspect lunged at him with a knife. If a video clearly shows that the suspect did no such thing, should the officer be given the opportunity to change his original...

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