Policy Brief: Early Criminal Case Assessment in Urban Jurisdictions

Chicago Appleseed is pleased to release a policy brief discussing the use of early prosecutorial review of drug cases in Philadelphia, PA and Brooklyn, NY--and implications for Cook County. You can find this brief and all of our latest criminal justice policy research at our Criminal Justice page....

Policy Brief: Early Case Assessment in Urban Jurisdictions

The twin goals of early case assessment are to devote more resources to those cases for which a conviction can confidently be obtained, and also to decline to prosecute, reduce charges, or divert other cases. Our Early Case Assessment Policy Brief takes a look at how the District Attorney's Offices...

Payday Lenders Lose Initial Bid to Block Illinois Law

Payday Lenders won't submit to regulation without a fight. Last Friday, Payday Lender Illinois Lending Corp sued in Cook County Court for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Illinois’ new and modified payday loan laws, the Consumer Installment Loan Act and the Payday Loan Reform Act (CILA /...

An Introduction to Illinois Redistricting

The 2010 Census results are in, and the big news is that Illinois has grown a mere 3% in the last decade, while Chicago has shrunk by nearly 7%, or 200,000 people. The data indicates that black and Hispanic Chicagoans are migrating from the city to the suburbs, taking up residence in Chicago’s so-ca...