Featured Resource: OpenPensions.org

While we don't normally write about public finance, we support any efforts to increase government transparency. Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer's Open Pensions website does just this. Commissioner Gainer is chairwoman of the County's pension oversight committee. The site addresses an import...
April 18, 2012

Small Dollar Lending Guidelines from the CFPB

This post originally appeared the Illinois Asset Building Group Blog.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)  released "Examination Procedures: Short-term, Small Dollar Lending," (pdf) which are guidelines for examining small dollar loan products. The guidelines are written for financial...
April 11, 2012

Featured Resource: Cost-Benefit Knowledge Bank for Criminal Justice

A project of the esteemed Vera Institute for Justice, the Cost-Benefit Knowledge Bank for Criminal Justice creates and consolidates resources for conducting economic analysis criminal justice initiatives. Technology advances are making data collection easier and cheaper, enabling evidence-based pol...
April 10, 2012

Research Capsule: A History of Bail & Pretrial Release

Article: A History of Bail and Pretrial Release (pdf) Author/Publication: Timothy Schnacke, et al / Pretrial Justice Institute Summary Bail reform is a work in progress: the origin of pre-trial release pre-dates the Magna Carta (1012 ad)! And it was created to address--what else?--overcrowded jai...
April 4, 2012

Texas Appleseed Report Profiles Small Dollar Lenders

This post originally appeared on the Illinois Asset Building Group (IABG) blog. Chicago Appleseed is an IABG partner. A report released this week by Texas Appleseed, "Reshaping the Future of Small Dollar Lending," makes the policy case for small dollar loans, and then profiles six market newcomers...
February 14, 2012