Civil Courts Archives - Page 4 of 6 - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

Support for SB 3635 to End Driver’s License Suspensions for Failures to Appear

UPDATE: HB 5588 has been assigned to committee for hearing on Wednesday, February 16. Please submit a witness slip in favor of the bill, as a "proponent," using this link before the hearing at 10:00 AM on Wednesday. On January 19, 2022, Illinois Senate Bill 3635 was filed by Sen. Celina Villa...

Chicago City Council must vote NO on the Mayor’s proposed civil asset forfeiture ordinance (O2021-4130)

Chicago's Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a plan to “start suing gang members to ‘take their assets’” in an attempt to curb community violence. Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers view the Mayor’s “Victims’ Justice Ordinance” (O2021-4130) as a misguided and reg...

Call to Support the Driving for Opportunity Act

The bipartisan federal Driving for Opportunity Act of 2021 creates incentives to states to end debt-based drivers’ license suspensions. It is moving through Congressional committee mark-up this month and we are hopeful it will gain sufficient support to become law. Under the Licens...

REPORT: “Solutions rather than Obstacles” – An evaluation of the Hearing Officer Program in Cook County’s Domestic Relations Court

Every year, the Domestic Relations (DR) Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County processes approximately 40,000 divorce and child support cases. Because DR cases are handled in civil court, neither individual party -- the petitioner nor respondent -- have any right to free or accessible legal re...

Public (In)Access to Judicial Branch Data in Illinois

In 2019, Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and our pro bono partner, DLA Piper, looked at the open records laws, the Freedom of Information Act, and other public access policies in all 50 states to determine where Illinois stands in terms of judicial transparency. We found that Illin...

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