The ACT Initiative Is Bringing Best Practices to Cook County’s Criminal Courts

In 2013, Chicago Appleseed helped the Circuit Court of Cook County design and establish the Access to Community Treatment (ACT) Court, an Adult Redeploy Illinois program. Like all ARI initiatives, the ACT Court was designed to divert people charged with nonviolent crimes from the Illinois prison sys...
September 1, 2016

Budget Standoff Threatens Flagship Court Reform

The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin published an editorial by Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice regarding the impact of the state fiscal crisis on the state's flagship prison diversion program, Adult Redeploy Illinois. The full text is reprinted below and a .pdf is available here: In this week’s state...
February 4, 2016

Stories from ACT Court Ambassadors

At the Collaboration for Justice's Annual Luncheon on Friday, October 16, we honored the Access to Community Treatment Court of Cook County with our Commitment to Justice Award. We also recognized three extraordinary graduates of the ACT Court--Lester, Angelique, and Cynthia--who attended the lunch...
October 27, 2015

ACT Court Milestone

Last week, the Access to Community Treatment Court achieved a major milestone, celebrating its first graduation for individuals who have successfully completed the problem-solving court program. 16 individuals were recognized for their efforts.  Several graduates shared powerful remarks about their...
September 14, 2015

Victory for Fair Sentencing of Children

Last month, Illinois Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Children, Restore Justice Illinois and the Bluhm Legal Clinic celebrated the passage of their House Bill 2741. The Bill eliminates mandatory life-without-parole sentences for youth under 18 at the time of the offense and requires judges to co...
August 13, 2015