Chicago Appleseed is committed to accessible justice for all. To help achieve this, we have created this hub of information for activists, legislators, researchers, journalists, and other community members as they navigate the opaque court systems of Cook County and Illinois.
Our courts are complex and, for many non-lawyers, can be complicated and intimidating – especially for litigants without access to an attorney. With this collaborative effort, our goal is to support equitable community empowerment through accessibility by providing a variety of resources that help bring transparency to legal and civil rights issues.

LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY

CRIMINAL AND TRAFFIC ASSESSMENT ACT (PASSED)

IL PUBLIC ACT 100-987: CRIMINAL AND TRAFFIC ASSESSMENT ACT

Summary: The CTAA repealed a number of excessive fees that existed in Illinois and implemented a pilot fee waiver program for people with income-levels within 400% of the federal poverty guidelines. The legislation was to sunset in 2021, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the date has been extended to 2022.

  • UPDATE | November 2020 – Chicago Appleseed, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, and our allies are advocating for an extension of the sunset date and for the Illinois Supreme Court to reconvene its Task Force on Court Costs Fines and Fees. More on that advocacy on our blog; for a one-page information sheet to share with legislators, click here. 

Report: Court Costs, Fines, and Fees Are Bad Policy: Recommendations for Illinois Legislators (July 2020)

THE JOE COLEMAN MEDICAL RELEASE ACT (PASSED)

PUBLIC ACT 102-0494: THE JOE COLEMAN MEDICAL RELEASE ACT

Summary: Joe Coleman – an 81-year-old decorated veteran died alone in prison while awaiting a decision on executive clemency. Mr. Coleman was service a life sentence for stealing $640 from a gas station. Mr. Coleman and those like him deserve to die in dignity, with their families. In 2019, over 300 imprisoned people in Illinois were permanently housed is infirmary and hospital settings. With HB 3665, ill and incapacitated people in IDOC would have access to a simple, expedited process for release consideration to Medicaid-approved outside care facility able to meet their needs.

    • UPDATE – AUGUST 2021 | The Joe Coleman Medical Release Act was signed by the Governor on August 17, 2021, and will become effective on January 1, 2022.

LICENSE TO WORK ACT (PASSED)

IL PUBLIC ACT 101-0623: LICENSE TO WORK ACT

Summary: The Act – which is the result of bipartisan support and years of advocacy from the Transit Table Coalition and other economic justice groups – ends the draconian practice of suspending driver’s licenses for numerous issues such as the inability to pay fines and fees from parking and vehicle compliance tickets. Nearly 75,000 drivers will have suspensions cleared from their driving records thanks to the Act.

  • UPDATE – February 2021 | On February 22, 2021 Governor Pritzker signed the Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity – Today (SAFE-T) Act, previously known as HB 3653. The SAFE-T Act includes significant expansions of the reforms in the License to Work Act. Illinois will no longer suspend driver’s licenses for unpaid fines and fees from traffic violations and automated camera tickets; people whose driver’s licenses have been suspended, canceled, or prohibited due to failure to pay any fine or penalty from these violations can have them restored and renewed. The legislation prevents future license holds/suspensions for these violations and unpaid abandoned vehicle fines or fees. Learn more here.

Report: “Living in Suspension – Consequences of Driver’s License Suspension Policies” (Chicago Jobs Council, February 2018)

PRETRIAL FAIRNESS ACT (PASSED WITH THE SAFE-T ACT)

IL PUBLIC ACT 101-0652:  PRETRIAL FAIRNESS ACT (WITHIN THE SAFE-T ACT)

Summary: In February, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed the SAFE-T Act (HB 3653 SFA2) – presented by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus – into law. The SAFE-T (Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity – Today) Act includes the provisions of the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA), which ends money bond, ensures faster release, requires courts to provide common sense pretrial services, increases government transparency, and reforms the warrant system in Illinois. The bill alleviates the financial burden that money bonds put on innocent families and ensures lack wealth is never the reason people stay in jail. The Pretrial Fairness Act ensures poverty is no longer a driver of incarceration. Most provisions in the SAFE-T Act go into effect in 2022, with the exception of the abolition of money bond, which will take effect on January 1, 2023.

 

Report: Vision for a Just Pretrial System: How to End Money Bond and Increase Pretrial Freedom (Coalition to End Money Bond, January 2020)

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PRETRIAL FAIRNESS ACT FROM THE COALITION TO END MONEY BOND. FOR MORE ON THE HISTORY OF BOND REFORM IN COOK COUNTY, CLICK HERE.

HB 3447: REDUCING BARRIERS TO RECOVERY

HB 3447: REDUCING BARRIERS TO RECOVERY

Summary: From 2016 to 2018, 20,000 people in Illinois were convicted of felonies for possessing small amounts of drugs, and 7,500 were imprisoned. House Bill 3447 will strengthen communities across Illinois by replacing the failed strategy of punishment and incarceration with a public health approach to reducing the harms associated with drug use. The bill reclassifies the penalty for possession of small amounts of drugs from a felony to a Class A misdemeanor and offers real diversion in the form of behavioral health and access to treatment rather than incarceration.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

CHICAGO POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

On February 22, 2021 Governor Pritzker signed the Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity – Today (SAFE-T) Act, previously known as HB 3653, which includes many systemic reforms to policing. More on our blog.

 

REFORM EFFORTS OF CHICAGO POLICE
POLICE PERJURY
RIGHT TO ACCESSIBLE COMMUNICATION

USE OF FORCE AND THE FUTURE OF POLICING

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS

CHILD SUPPORT + FAMILY COURTS

COOK COUNTY DOMESTIC RELATIONS HEARING OFFICERS
“CLEAN SLATE” DEBT RELIEF PROGRAM

ADMINISTRATIVE CHILD SUPPORT PROCESS

“INCOME SHARES” CHILD SUPPORT MODEL
“PASS THROUGH AND DISREGARD” ADVOCACY

RIGHTS TO COMMUNICATE

RIGHT TO ACCESSIBLE COMMUNICATION

On February 22, 2021 Governor Pritzker signed the Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity – Today (SAFE-T) Act, previously known as HB 3653, which includes many systemic reforms, including strengthened protections for arrested people at police stations. More on our blog.

POLICE STATION REPRESENTATION IN COOK COUNTY

VOTING FOR JUDGES + JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

VOTING FOR JUDGES

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT JUDICIAL ELECTIONS IN COOK COUNTY, INCLUDING THE EVALUATIONS AND ENDORSEMENTS OF JUDGES FROM BAR ASSOCIATIONS AND MEDIA OUTLETS, VISIT: www.VoteForJudges.org

DATA ACCESS + COURT TRANSPARENCY

DISCLAIMER: By providing these resources, Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts is in no way offering legal advice or guidance and takes no responsibility for the content published by organizations or entities other than itself.