Cook County’s court system has received a $2.5 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge, an initiative aimed to reduce the number of people in jail and address racial disparities in the criminal justice system. “Local jurisdictions are proving it possible for…
In October 2017, Cook County’s chief judge, state’s attorney, sheriff, board president, public defender and the chair of the county board’s Criminal Justice Committee all petitioned the Illinois Supreme Court to issue a rule that would eliminate pre-trial incarceration due solely to the inability to pay a money bond. The…
The Illinois Supreme Court has held that sentencing a juvenile to a prison sentence of greater than 40 years violates his or her Eighth Amendment rights because it imposes a de facto life sentence. The defendant in this case was a juvenile at the time of the offense. The juvenile…
On Aug. 29, 2017, the State of Illinois filed suit in federal court against the City of Chicago, alleging that the Chicago Police Department’s use-of-force policies and practices violate the federal Constitution and Illinois law. Two days later, the parties moved to stay these proceedings while they negotiated the consent…
The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) has entered into a settlement agreement that will provide a process by which parolees will learn their rights and receive representation of lawyers during their parole revocation process. There was no availability of assigned legal counsel for parole violators before this agreement. This agreement…