Tag Archives: Criminal Justice Advisory Committee

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”) cour...

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...

The content in this article was originally submitted as testimony to the Cook County Board of Commissioners’ Criminal Justice Committee meeting on January 27, 2020, about peoples’ lengths of stay in Cook County Jail and on electronic monitoring, and the effect COVID-19 has had on the growing jail po...

Both this morning and yesterday, the Chicago Tribune published an editorial and an analysis, respectively, attacking bail reform in Cook County and the State’s Attorney’s (SA) felony dismissal rates. The information published in their report on SA Kim Foxx  is...

This morning, Federal Judge Matthew Kennelly issued a court order that extends federal court oversight of the Cook County Jail, requiring Sheriff Tom Dart to make desperately needed changes to the conditions inside and decrease the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus. Chicago Appleseed has provided...

Jeffrey Pendleton is the first person known to have died after contracting COVID-19 in the Cook County Jail. His infection and eventual death were avoidable and preventable. Each and every government actor who objected to his release—or contributed to his incarceration in the first place—played a ro...

By Sarah Staudt, Senior Policy Analyst & Staff Attorney for the Collaboration for Justice of Chicago Council of Lawyers and Chicago Appleseed Cook County Jail must immediately, and drastically, reduce its jail population. Over two weeks ago, Chicago Appleseed organized the first e-...

Dear Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court: A key role of the Illinois Supreme Court is to issue orders and promulgate rules that make the local courts fairer, more effective, and efficient. At this time of public health emergency, it is incumbent upon the Illinois Supreme Court to protect litig...

Dear Chief Judge Evans, The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented threat to public safety. The criminal courts, in particular, have a critically important responsibility in permitting people under their jurisdiction to follow CDC recommendations to stay home when feeling ill to properly c...