Decarceration & Diversion Archives - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

One Year Later, Still “Punishing Fear”: How the Criminalization of Gun Possession Has Changed in a Year

One year ago, Chicago Appleseed published a report about the rampant criminalization of gun possession in Cook County, titled Punishing Fear: The Devastating Impacts of the War on Gun Possession in Chicago. One week later, Eileen O’Neill Burke was elected as Cook County State’s Attorney, and her adm...

Cook County State’s Attorney Expands Felony Review Bypass Program Citywide

Since January, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) has been piloting a policy that limits due process rights for people accused of unlicensed gun possession. On Friday, they announced that they will be expanding this policy from two police districts to the entire city, handing off...

Understanding Barriers to Representation for Civil Contempt in Child Support Cases & Examining Rule 13.8(b)

Parents who fail to pay court-ordered child support can face a range of penalties, including civil contempt of court and misdemeanor or felony charges, which could result in fines or even incarceration. The data is incomplete, but it's estimated that at an average of 50,000 parents (mainly fathers)...

The Results Are In: Forensic Labs Under Prosecutorial Control Are Problematic

UPDATE: September 29, 2025 | A previous version of this post said that if the Board of Commissioners grants the funding request, "the CCSAO would no longer rely on the ISP Crime Lab for forensic support." A representative of the State's Attorney's Office provided the following clarification: "The fo...

NEW—The Impact of the Pretrial Fairness Act on Electronic Monitoring in Cook County: Report

Today, Chicago Appleseed published a new report, The Impact of the Pretrial Fairness Act on Electronic Monitoring in Cook County, examining the impacts of the legislative reforms on Cook County’s pretrial electronic monitoring (EM) system. These reforms, initiated as part of the Pretrial Fairnes...

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