Criminal & Traffic Assessments Act (CTAA) Archives - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

BREAKING – SB 108 Passes, Making the Current Cook County Specific Partial Traffic Fee Waiver Program Permanent

We are proud to be members of the Illinois Fines & Fees Coalition and celebrate alongside our partners the passage of SB 108, the Traffic Fee Waiver Sunset Elimination Bill, which makes the current Cook County-specific partial traffic fee waiver program permanent. The bill now moves to Governor...

SB 2447: Advancing Fairness in Illinois Court Costs, Assessments, and Fees

Chicago Appleseed has long fought for fairness in court fines and fees, a source of systemic inequity in the Illinois legal system. These financial penalties impact low-income residents, contributing to cycles of debt and poverty. In 2018, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Criminal and Traffi...

“Waiving the Waiver”: Low-income Defendants Forced to Choose Between Plea Deals and Court Debt

Written by Grace Coolidge, Northwestern University, Class of 2025. In 2018, Governor Rauner signed the Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act (CTAA) into Illinois law, aiming to simplify and standardize court fees and assessments across the state. The CTAA was also intended to protect low-income...

Testimony to the IL Supreme Court Statutory Court Fees Task Force: Fines and Fees Perpetuate Inequality as Opposed to Serving Justice (August 30)

On August 30, 2022, Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts' social work intern, CJ Beck, provided testimony at a public hearing held by Illinois Statutory Court Fees Task Force. The public hearing was called so community members could provide testimony on the Task Force's draft report on the "Impl...

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...

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