VICTORY: The FAIR Act Passes, Office of State Public Defender Will Be Established

Criminal Courts, Legislation & Policy Statements , ,

On May 31, 2025, the Funded Advocacy & Independent Representation (FAIR) Act was passed by both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly. The FAIR Act requires Illinois to establish an Office of the State Public Defender; Illinois will join 45 states in our nation in creating a public oversight and support system for public defense in all of its counties.

Currently, public defense budgets, staffing, and resources vary greatly across counties in Illinois. Only 40% of counties have Offices of the Public Defender—the others contract attorneys to provide public defense, often on a part-time basis. In fact, not a single county in Illinois is adequately staffed to provide public defense that meets national standards. As a result, some counties are not able to provide high-quality public defense and risk staff burnout. The FAIR Act will improve this dire situation by establishing a statewide office to oversee public defense across the state and guarantee adequate and equitable defense by allocating state funding to counties that need it to support defendants who cannot afford a private attorney. One crucial aspect of this oversight will be the collection and distribution of statewide data on public defense in order to estimate each county’s need for additional staffing and resources.

Staff member Austin Segal and intern Patrick Reyna with Illinois Senator Adriane Johnson after she agreed to co-sponsor the FAIR Act.

The FAIR Act also makes an important change to leadership appointments in the courts. Before the FAIR Act, the decision to appoint or remove a chief public defender was in the hands of judges in all of Illinois except for Cook County. This system created a clear conflict of interest that posed real risks of judicial influence on the decisions of public defenders. This hierarchical relationship created multiple issues, including possibly preventing public defenders from advocating for their clients as vigorously as possible. For example, a public defender might not be as willing to press a judge for something their client has a right to if they know it might put their job at risk. The FAIR Act combats this lack of independence by relocating the authority to appoint and remove chief public defenders to a newly established State Public Defender Commission in collaboration with local nominating committees.

Chicago Appleseed has been an unwavering advocate for the FAIR Act in communities, in the press, and even in Springfield! We strongly believe and hope that the FAIR Act will improve public defense in all counties across Illinois—urban and rural counties alike—and narrow the justice gap between those who can afford private defense and those who cannot.

Austin Segal (they/he) is Chicago Appleseed’s Research Manager and our Jill Dupont Memorial Fellow. They studied sociology, mathematical methods in the social sciences, and legal studies at Northwestern University and wrote an interdisciplinary thesis with original research on the implementation of queer-inclusive educational policies. They have been involved in organizations that promote constructive dialogue and community organizing, and are deeply invested in supporting those harmed by the criminal legal system.