pretrial fairness Archives - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

Graphic with the title text: Pretrial Fairness Act - Explained.

The Pretrial Fairness Act: Explained

Written by Austin Segal and Kate Bannister. Earlier this month, the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice published a court-watching report titled Changing Landscapes: Community Court-Watchers’ Observations of the Second Year of Pretrial Fairness Act Implementation. The report, in which Chicago A...

New Report Uses Court-Watching to Evaluate the Implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act

The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice (INPJ) has released “Changing Landscapes: Community Court-Watchers’ Observations of the Second Year of Pretrial Fairness Act Implementation,” a new report detailing community efforts to monitor implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act in its second year....

One Year Later, Still “Punishing Fear”: How the Criminalization of Gun Possession Has Changed in a Year

One year ago, Chicago Appleseed published a report about the rampant criminalization of gun possession in Cook County, titled Punishing Fear: The Devastating Impacts of the War on Gun Possession in Chicago. One week later, Eileen O’Neill Burke was elected as Cook County State’s Attorney, and her adm...

ICYMI: Recap of “Who’s Your Jailer?” Event—December 10, 2025

On Wednesday evening, Naomi and I participated in a community teach-in, "Who's Your Jailer?," hosted by the Cook County Coalition for Prosecutor Accountability (C3PA), where we discussed Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s policies and their consequences. The panel also featured publ...

Cook County State’s Attorney Expands Felony Review Bypass Program Citywide

Since January, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) has been piloting a policy that limits due process rights for people accused of unlicensed gun possession. On Friday, they announced that they will be expanding this policy from two police districts to the entire city, handing off...

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