More incarceration does not equal less crime.

The ACLU posted a fascinating infographic this week. The above graphic compares the change incarceration rates and the change in crime rates from 1999 to 2009. Illinois' prison population has skyrocketed since 1970, but has not grown considerably in the past decade, as illustrated by this chart pr...
August 18, 2011

Recusal Standards for Judges

Finding ways to ensure the competence and integrity of the judicial system is a research and advocacy priority at Chicago Appleseed. We consider ways to advocate for improvement through our court-watching projects, the research and support we give to the Judicial Performance Commission, and in our r...
August 5, 2011

A Call for Transparency: Illinois Judicial Vacancies Should Be Made Public

This piece originally appeared at the Huffington Post. When an Illinois judge quits or retires before the end of her term, Article VI, Section 12 of the Illinois Constitution allows the Illinois Supreme Court to select her replacement. This process happens behind closed doors –the vacancy is not an...
June 24, 2011

Cook County President Preckwinkle Declares “War on Drugs” a Failure

At a noontime rally in the Chicago loop last Friday, Cook County President Preckwinkle condemned the increasingly unpopular “war on drugs.”  She was the lone elected official openly criticizing the enforcement strategy, which dates back to Nixon’s presidency. Preckwinkle emphasized the excessive an...
June 20, 2011

Doctors’ Orders: Treat, Don’t Incarcerate, Mentally Ill and Addicts

One of the world’s most respected academic journals, The New England Journal of Medicine, recently published a piece offering a fresh perspective on the US policy of incarcerating drug users and the mentally ill.  “Medicine and the Epidemic of Incarceration” (pdf) takes a public health approach to a...
June 10, 2011
1 … 11 12 13