Court Recording and Access to Justice in the Eviction Courts of Cook County

Chicago Reader reporter Maya Dukmasova published two-part story on eviction in Cook County last month. The first part focuses on the relationship between gentrification and eviction and the vulnerability of immigrant populations. The second part examines access to justice problems in the eviction co...

An Update from the Immigration Court Reform Advisory Committee Co-Chair

Proposing a New Model to Ensure Efficiency in the Courts, Creating a Manual for Practitioners, and More--Lisa Palumbo, Immigration Court Reform Advisory Committee Co-Chair The purpose is of the Immigration Court Reform Advisory Committee is to work together with stakeholders to create a more fair a...

Hearing Officers in a Consolidated Domestic Relations Division

Three years after our Constitutionality analysis of the child support courts in the Cook County Domestic Relations Division, Presiding Judge Grace Dickler has issued an operations plan for consolidating the division. We are excited to announce that beginning in January 2017, the Domestic Relations D...

Chicago Council of Lawyers Releases Statement on Police Accountability Report

In April 2016, the Police Accountability Task Force issued their 190-page report: Recommendations for Reform: Restoring Trust between the Chicago Police and the Communities They Serve. The Report addresses many subjects, ranging from how to improve police-community relations to how to respond to per...

Appleseed Staffer Attends Chicago Movement Lawyering Retreat

On July 15th and 16th, I was lucky enough to participate in a “Movement Lawyering Retreat” for Chicago attorneys and activists. The retreat was a small collection of lawyers and organizers brought together by two dedicated individuals: Candace Moore and Quinn Rallins. Their idea is to ultimately bui...