Research Archives - Page 6 of 8 - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

Checking on the Cook County Criminal Court’s Case Backlog

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts has been tracking the status of Illinois Courts’ shutdown. With COVID-19 causing the courts to shut down and the Illinois Supreme Court to pause speedy trial rights, case processing slowed to a crawl. In April...

Which states protect your right to communicate after arrest?

The Governor signed the Safety Accountability Fairness and Equity - Today (SAFE-T) Act in February of 2021. Among the many police and criminal legal system provisions in the law, the SAFE-T Act (IL PA 101-0652) solidifies the right to communicate for all people arrested in Illinois. In this...

Is police accountability in Illinois over before it began? Our review of HB 3443 found it weakens the SAFE-T Act significantly.

Introduction Early in June, the Illinois General Assembly passed HB 3443, a trailer bill to the SAFE-T Act (IL PA 101-0652) that was signed by Governor Pritzker in February. The SAFE-T Act included the Pretrial Fairness Act, ending cash bail and making other criminal justice and police reforms. T...

Progress Report: First 100 Days of the New Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County

On December 1, 2020, Iris Martinez took office of Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court. The Clerk plays an essential function as the “official record keeper” for the court, responsible for collecting and disbursing all filing fees and fines, managing legal records for all court divisions, and atte...

Decarcerating Cook County: A look into the State’s Attorney’s Diversion Programs

Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts, The People’s Lobby, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, and Reclaim Chicago have released the eighth report in our series on prosecutorial accountability in Cook County. The report, “Decarcerating Cook County: Use of Diversion Programs for Low-Level, “Non-Violen...

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