COLLABORATION FOR JUSTICE COMMITTEES
The Collaboration for Justice Program Committees of Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers oversee our projects – whether they are conducted by staff, pro bono counsel, or a combination. Members also assist in conducting projects, identifying systemic issues, considering ways to use national and local research in developing proposed solutions, and preparing policy and editorial statements.
Click here for our program committee calendar.
To become involved with a committee, please fill out this form or email us.
Chair: Mark Dupont
The Access to Justice Committee works to identify ineffective, inefficient, and unfair court management policies and procedures; recommends improvements; and advocates for their implementation.
Our Access to Justice Committee works on a range of issues related to policies and procedures of the court system. Examples include:
- Judicial Performance & Selection—Using data-driven methods to examine courtroom policies, procedures, structures, and judicial demeanor to improve diversity, training, and selection processes of judges.
- Eviction Courts—Working collaboratively with a coalition of advocates and court stakeholders to ensure that court recording systems are installed and utilized in all eviction (and all other) courtrooms in Cook County.
- Central Panels of Administrative Hearing Officers—Researching how centralized pools of administrative hearing officers can professionalize and increase independence from decision-making agencies outside of the court system.
- Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court—Chicago Appleseed, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, and the Civic Federation have joined forces to examine the processes and policies of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County that create barriers to justice.
The Committee meets at 12:00 PM (CST) every second Tuesday of the month. Click here for more.
Co-Chairs: Joan Colen & Nicole McKinnon
The Family Law Committee works on projects aimed to improve the experience of families in the Cook County court system, with a particular emphasis on unrepresented parents. Examples include:
- Constitutionality Assessment of Cook County’s Child Support Courts
—Originally, the court had one track to divorcing parents and another to parents who had never been married; we were invited to serve on the Presiding Judge’s Task Force to consolidate the division.
-
Hearing Officers in Domestic Relations Court—We helped the court gain additional funding to expand the Hearing Officer program into the branch courts and are continually working to evaluate the program.
- Child Support Processes—The Committee is engaged in creating community-based resources and workshops to help parents navigate the opaque and complex child support system in Illinois – with or without attorneys.
The Committee meets at 3:00 PM (CST) every first Tuesday of the month. Click here for more.
Co-Chairs: David Melton & Carl Royal
The Civil Liberties Committee meets monthly to discuss civil liberties issues that are both local and national in scope—including police accountability in Chicago.
- Police Accountability—The Civil Liberties & Police Accountability Committee is focused on the transparency, trustworthiness, and oversight of the Chicago Police Department. We have done independent research to advise on policies, have testified at public hearings, and continually work in collaboration with community stakeholders to monitor the Federal Consent Decree and other CPD reform efforts.
- Artificial Intelligence, Data Collection, and Technology Usage—The Committee monitors local and national legislation related to the use of technology by governments or corporations that could possibly infringe upon someone’s civil liberties.
The Civil Liberties Committee meets on the second Friday of every month at 12:00 PM (CST). Click here for more.
Co-Chairs: Alexandra Block, Jonathan Pilsner, and Margaret Truesdale
The Criminal Justice Advisory Committee uses research, advocacy, legislative proposals, technical assistance, and project management to improve all areas of our criminal justice system—with a specific focus on decarceration and racial equity. CJAC’s work focuses on decriminalizing poverty by bringing the highest standards of justice to Cook County’s criminal courts. Specific projects include:
- Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel—Chicago Appleseed has worked in collaboration with community organizations and court stakeholders, including the Public Defender, to examine right to counsel issues in Cook County and evaluate the police stationhouse representation in Chicago.
- Criminal Justice Debt, Court Fines, Fees, and Costs—Researching the impact of criminal justice debt on poor, primarily Black communities and families in Cook County and advocating for legislation that mitigates and removes the negative impact of monetary sanctions.
- Money Bond and Pretrial Justice Reform—For years, we’ve worked with the Coalition to End Money Bond, which we helped found, to support state legislation, local policy changes, and supreme court rule-making that will eventually end wealth-based incarceration in Illinois.
The Criminal Justice Advisory Committee meets on the third Thursday of every month at noon. Click here for more information.
Co-Chairs: Lisa Palumbo & Ellen Craig
The Immigration Court Reform Committee works in conjunction with the Appleseed Network Immigration Collaborative. Most recently, the Collaborative created Getting Off the Assembly Line: Overcoming Immigration Court Obstacles in Individual Cases on deportation issues for immigration attorneys.
Chicago Appleseed currently focused on issues related to immigration bond court and electronic monitoring.