Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers have formed a Collaboration for Justice for over 25 years. Together, our Collaboration for Justice works to interrupt cycles of poverty, mass incarceration, and racial injustice perpetrated by all aspects of the legal system—but this work would be impossible without collaboration with our community and the generosity of our dedicated volunteers.
Our Collaboration for Justice is thrilled to announce that on Thursday, June 8, 2023, we will gather at the Ivy Room in Chicago for our Commitment to Justice Awards.
-
- When: Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 6:00 PM
- Where: Ivy Room (12 East Ohio Street, Chicago IL 60611)
We are thrilled to invite you to join us for food, drinks, conversation, and to honor two extraordinary community members and spotlight three of our dedicated pro bono partners.
Click here to view the event flyer.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Dr. Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve
Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve, Ph.D., is writer, sociologist and legal scholar whose research examines how the criminal justice system reproduces racism despite due process protections. She is the author of the acclaimed book, Crook County: Racism and Injustice in America’s Largest Criminal Court, which is the winner of 11 awards or finalist distinctions for its contribution to the areas of sociology, law, criminal justice, and media. She is the winner of her discipline’s highest book honor, The American Sociological Association’s Distinguished Book Prize as well as an NAACP Image Award Finalist in the category of “Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author.” Her book, The Waiting Room, is part of the series The Southside from Amazon Original Stories and is a collaboration with the Pulitzer Prize–winning team at The Marshall Project.
Gonzalez Van Cleve’s written commentary has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, NBC News, Crain’s Chicago Business, and CNN. Her legal commentary has been featured on NPR, NBC News, CNN, and MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show.
Currently, Dr. Gonzalez Van Cleve is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Brown University and an affiliated scholar with the American Bar Foundation in Chicago, IL. She is a native-Chicagoan, a first generation college graduate, and a proud alumni of Northwestern University (BA., MA., Ph.D.).
AWARDS
Commitment to Justice Award
Illinois State Senator Robert Peters
State Senator Robert Peters has a deep passion for public service cultivated by numerous events throughout his life that left a profound impact on him and the people he cares about. Peters began his career in community advocacy as an organizer, where he successfully fought to require Cook County judges to set affordable bail amounts for all defendants, leading to a substantial reduction in the Cook County Jail population since it took effect in July 2017.
As a state senator, Peters plans to continue advocating for public safety for all. He has helped pass several key pieces of public safety legislation and is committed to holding big corporations accountable, reforming the criminal legal system, creating clean energy jobs, fighting for housing, health care justice and for democracy in public education.
Partner in Justice Award
Matthew McLoughlin
Matthew McLoughlin is an activist and legal worker. Cutting his teeth as an organizer with Occupy Chicago, Matt has continued to organize around key issues in Chicago including school closures, immigrant rights, and racial justice. For the past 12 years, he has helped lift up, document, and support local and national movements to end mass incarceration, including organizing jail support and solidarity actions.
He is a co-founder of the Chicago Community Bond Fund and helped pass the Pretrial Fairness Act, legislation that will make Illinois the first state in the country to end wealth-based jailing. He currently serves as the Mass Defense Coordinator for the Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and as an organizer with the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice.
PRO BONO SPOTLIGHT
Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts & Chicago Council of Lawyers are thrilled to spotlight the following law firms for their ongoing and fruitful pro bono partnerships:
For years, DLA Piper has supported the work of Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers. They currently support us as a key member of the Coalition to End Asset Forfeiture, which advocates to limit and ultimately end civil forfeiture in Chicago and throughout Illinois. Other Coalition members include the ACLU of Illinois, Lucy Parsons Labs, the Institute for Justice, and several pro bono advocates.
Click here to read our new report, I Don’t Know Why I’m Here: Observations from Cook County’s Civil Asset Forfeiture Courtrooms (April 2023).
We are currently using the findings from this report as the Coalition to End Asset Forfeiture advocates for Illinois legislation to improve and expand data collection around the use of civil forfeiture by law enforcement – something we consider an avalanche of petty theft directed at people least able to afford the consequences.
Thank you, DLA Piper!
Kirkland & Ellis has supported the work of Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers on a variety of projects over the years. Most recently, a Kirkland & Ellis pro bono team was instrumental in our work around the Cook County Domestic Violence Courts.
Click here to read our new report, “Slipping Through the Cracks” – Evaluation of the Cook County Domestic Violence Division in Chicago (August 2022).
Cook County’s Domestic Violence Division has some features associated with best practices in domestic violence courts, and yet is not operating at the fullness of its potential. Going forward, we will continue to regularly assess its function and work to better respond holistically to the community’s needs.
Thank you, Kirkland & Ellis!
Lotis Blue Consulting provides important quantitative research support the Collaboration for Justice. Of particular note, their recent support of our data needs around electronic monitoring has been an incredible asset to our ongoing work on this issue.
Illinois is at a crossroads when it comes to pretrial electronic monitoring. Research, including our own, has increasingly demonstrated that the existing electronic monitoring programs in Cook County are not achieving their goals. We will continue to monitor these programs and use this data to educate policymakers and the public to make decisions about electronic monitoring that are based on facts, not fear.
Click here for more information about our electronic monitoring research and advocacy.
Thank you, Lotis Blue Consulting!
SPONSORS
CHAMPION
Goldberg Kohn • Harrison & Held • Jones Day • Loevy & Loevy • PWC
PARTNER
Sonya Naar • Dr. Mary Pattillo
ADVOCATE
Donncha Carroll