Letter to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

If you are a subscriber to the Daily Law Bulletin, you have probably seen our letter in the Lawyer's Forum concerning the Cook County Bond Court. We have reprinted it below for nonsubscribers. A wishlist for forthcoming bond court plan By Ali Abid and Malcolm Rich Ali Abid is a staff attorney and M...
October 30, 2014

Cook County Deprives Defendants of a Public Defense

Chicago, IL, May 1, 2013 -- In courtrooms across Cook County, a Chicago Appleseed investigation has confirmed, defendants are being denied a public defense solely because they have posted bond to get out of jail. The denials come without a constitutionally required hearing on the defendant’s finance...
May 1, 2013

“Bailing Out of a Medieval System”

As Chicago searches for ways to reduce its exploding jail population, it need look no further than neighboring Rockford. Tom  Warkowski, a former Winnebago County Assistant State's Attorney was appointed Jail Population Analyst under a court order by the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois to r...
March 21, 2013

Policy Brief: Community Courts in Cook County

Today we release a two-part policy brief discussing an alternative prosecution strategy called community-based justice. Part I makes the case for community-base justice by comparing Cook County’s current misdemeanor justice system--which adjudicates over 150,000 misdemeanors annually (pdf)--with com...
February 27, 2013

Tools: Alternative Small Dollar Loan Toolkit

Chicago Appleseed was pleased to partner with the Illinois Asset Building Coalition in the development of the Alternative Small Dollar Loan Toolkit (ASDL Toolkit). The ASDL Toolkit serves as a resource for banks and credit unions interested in offering a safe, profitable, small dollar loan (SDL) pr...
January 28, 2013