VICTORY: Illinois Just Passed the Pretrial Fairness Act and Ended Money Bail

After years of advocacy by the Coalition to End Money Bond - including Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers - and thousands of other organizers across the state, the Illinois Legislature just became the first in the nation to abolish money bail by passing HB 3653 SFA2. Once Governor...
January 13, 2021

Time to Reconvene the Supreme Court Task Force on Court Costs, Fines, and Fees

In 2016, the Illinois Supreme Court’s Statutory Court Fee Task Force released a report finding that the state’s “byzantine system” of court costs, fines, and fees varied wildly by county and disproportionately impacted low-income Illinois residents. These findings pushed forward legislation – the Cr...
November 23, 2020

Economic Advocacy (and More) Resources for Community Activists

Chicago Appleseed has created a hub of information for activists, legislators, researchers, journalists, and members of the public as they navigate the opaque court systems of Cook County and Illinois. With this collaborative effort, our goal is to support community empowerment through equitable acc...
October 26, 2020