Legislation Introduced to Eliminate Monetary Bond in Illinois

  Last night, Representative Christian Mitchell introduced HB 3421, the Equal Justice For All Act. This morning, Chicago Appleseed's Senior Policy Analyst and Staff Attorney Sharlyn Grace spoke at a press conference unveiling the bill organized by The People's Lobby and Representative Mitche...
February 10, 2017

Child Support Enforcement and the Function of Family Courts

This week, the New York Times published a story about how the child support enforcement systems and policies in U.S. court create a cycle of non-payment by middle and low income parents: Skip Child Support. Go to Jail. Lose Job. Repeat. Unpaid child support became a big concern in the 1980s and ’90s...
April 22, 2015

The Coming Fees Crisis: Poverty Capitalism in the Courts

  This past week, two important pieces have appeared on NPR and the New York Times bringing attention to the increased practice of levying exploitive fines and fees on indigent people passing through the criminal and civil justice system. The first piece from NPR, based on a report of a S...
August 28, 2014