Tag Archives: chicago

The City of Chicago’s contract with ShotSpotter, which was set to expire in August, was recently quietly extended by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to February of next year—while Chicago’s new Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson was campaigning in the fall. This maneuver is disappointing in terms of exhibiting the ci...

Today, an ordinance (02023-904) to create enhanced penalties for “aggravated assault” on emergency workers, firefighters, and police officers – introduced by Alderman Matt O’Shea – passed Chicago City Council. This ordinance is the latest in a series of ordinances aimed at creating hefty municipal p...

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 f...

Cook County leads the nation in exonerations based on false confessions. Between 1972 and 1991, Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge tortured at least 119 people – most of whom were young Black men – in order to force false confessions. Cook County still lives in that legacy: Between January 1989 and...