Letter to Governor Pritzker: Support for HB 3653

On January 13, 2021, the Illinois General Assembly passed a historic criminal justice reform package (presented by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus). Among the many provisions in the 764 page bill is the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) - a comprehensive proposal that ends money bail, reduce...
February 9, 2021

VICTORY: Illinois Just Passed the Pretrial Fairness Act and Ended Money Bail

After years of advocacy by the Coalition to End Money Bond - including Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers - and thousands of other organizers across the state, the Illinois Legislature just became the first in the nation to abolish money bail by passing HB 3653 SFA2. Once Governor...
January 13, 2021

Illinois Supreme Court Amendment to Rule 23 – A Necessary Change

On November 20, the Illinois Supreme Court amended Illinois Supreme Court Rule 23. Rule 23 originally allowed reviewing courts in Illinois to issue decisions as unpublished orders if the ruling does not establish law (is not precedential). The amendment to Rule 23 will now allow these unpublished or...
January 12, 2021

Illinois HB 163: Criminal Justice Omnibus

UPDATED: On January 13, 2020, the Illinois General Assembly voted to pass HB 3653, an amended version of HB 163, including the Pretrial Fairness Act (SFA2) which ends money bond. The Governor is expected to sign the legislation. Click here for more on the bill that passed. The criminal justic...
January 8, 2021