New Book Looks at Racial Injustice in the Cook County Courts

On May 11th, Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve spoke at University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration about her new book, Crook County: Racism and Injustice in America’s Largest Criminal Court. (Stanford Law Books). Before a packed auditorium, Van Cleve, a Temple University criminal justic...
June 8, 2016

Report on the Impact of Court Fines, Fees and Costs

The Collaboration for Justice—the joint social justice effort of Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice and the Chicago Council of Lawyers—has released a report on the impact and legality of court fines, fees and costs. The report details how the recent trend of shifting court costs to low-income and in...
May 26, 2016
Illinois State Capitol, Photo by Daniel Schwen

Chicago Appleseed Placed on Study Committee for Drug Field-Testing Program

On August 21, 2015, HB356, a bill establishing a pilot drug field-testing program was enacted, having passed both houses of the Illinois legislature and being signed by Governor Rauner. The bill, chiefly sponsored by Representative Zalewski in the House and Senator Harmon in the Senate, was develope...
September 14, 2015

Bond Reform Measure Signed

“The county should not be using bond being posted by non-convicted individuals as a revenue source. It’s a tax on poor black and brown people primarily,” said Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey, quoted in a WBEZ story on a new law concerning processing fees in the criminal court. The measure cap...
August 26, 2015

Ensuring the Public Defense of Indigent Defendants in Cook County

The Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, a joint group of the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice and the Chicago Council of Lawyers, has released a report on whether criminal defendants in Chicago’s felony preliminary hearing courtrooms receive the public defense required by the Sixth Amendment to t...
August 19, 2015