About Elizabeth Monkus

Elizabeth Monkus (she/her) is the Senior Attorney & Project Director for Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts. Elizabeth came to Chicago Appleseed in 2010 to manage the Judicial Performance Commission Demonstration project. She currently focuses on domestic relations and judicial elections in her program work.

Public Confidence in the Judiciary

The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reports (registration required) that Circuit Court Judge Maddux has granted a request that a judge from outside Cook County be brought in to preside over the defamation suit Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jim Ryan has brought against Fox Chicago News and the Better Go...

Policy Brief: Judicial Recusal

Last month, Chicago Appleseed shared a policy brief on judicial recusal standards with the Illinois Supreme Court. The policy brief, written by staff attorney Elizabeth Monkus with assistance from staff intern Sarah Swearer, focuses on the features of meaningful recusal standards and procedures.  Sp...

The Law Bulletin Reports on Weaknesses in Recusal Rules

Last week, the Chicago Law Bulletin reported (unfortunately, a paid account is required to view the article) on a judicial recusal issue in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Richard Vanecko, a nephew of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. Cook County Circuit Judge Arthur Hill, who served unde...

The ISBA Offers a Proposal to Update the Recusal Rule in Illinois

On Saturday, the Illinois State Bar Association voted on a proposed update to the recusal rules in Illinois. Chicago Appleseed, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, and the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform are heartened to see the ISBA address a subject of critical importance: judicial disqualifica...

Links of Interest, November 12-16, 2012

Immigration Reform The American Constitution Society has released an issue brief on state and local efforts to create and enforcement immigration law. The Southern Poverty Law Center was granted access to immigrant detention records in Louisiana, as it seeks to determine whether state and local...
1 32 33 34 35 36 49