Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers work together in a Collaboration for Justice to promote fair, accessible, and anti-racist courts. Every year, we gather for an annual meeting in October. This year, join our staff and allies for a two-part series focused on how we’re collaboratively identifying and fighting hidden injustices people face as they navigate the legal system. Click here for the event flyer.

On October 5, our Senior Policy Analyst & Staff Attorney, Sarah Staudt, will be joined by Illinois State Senator Robert Peters and Garien Gatewood of the Illinois Justice Project to discuss the Pretrial Fairness Act, how it came about, what challenges we face for implementation, and why abolishing money bail is essential to racial, gender, and economic justice. For Illinois lawyers who pre-register for the October 5 panel, 1.25 hours of CLE credit is available. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR OCTOBER 5.

Then, on October 19, we will feature two keynote speakers: first, Illinois Attorney General, Kwame Raoul will discuss what the judicial, legislative, and executive responsibilities are in eliminating disparities and improving the Illinois Courts; then, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, Honorable Anne Burke, will discuss judicial redistricting in Illinois, the Illinois Supreme Court’s new centralized approach to pretrial programs, and what the judiciary can do to help ensure accessible justice for all. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR OCTOBER 19.

• Attorney General Kwame Raoul was sworn in as the 42nd Attorney General of Illinois in January 2019. Born in Chicago to Haitian immigrants, AG Raoul brings a lifetime of legal and policy experience, advocacy, and public service to the Office of the Attorney General. As the state’s chief legal and law enforcement officer, Attorney General Raoul has worked to reduce the long-lasting effects of violence and provide support to survivors of violent crime and their families by improving Illinois’ Crime Victims Compensation Program to ensure that the process is trauma-informed and reaches all communities across the state that are affected by violence. He also increased the funding for grants under the Violent Crime Victims Assistance Program, which provides financial support to government and nonprofit social service agencies throughout Illinois that offer services to victims and witnesses of violent crime. In addition to these community safety efforts, Attorney General Raoul has focused on enhancing collaboration between the Attorney General’s Office and federal and local law enforcement agencies; has taken a leadership role in addressing the unique, multijurisdictional issues that have arisen through the COVID-19 pandemic; has utilized a multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach to protect children from online threats; and much more. AG Raoul has engaged in multistate efforts to defend access to quality health care for all, to defend consumer protections, to protect our natural resources from rollbacks of environmental protections, to fight for immigration policies that do not separate children from their families; and has been a leader in defending and protecting the rights of working people in Illinois. Before he was elected as Attorney General in November 2018, Attorney General Raoul spent 14 years serving as a state senator representing the 13th legislative district. As a senator, Raoul led negotiations and sponsored many significant measures that became law, including those to abolish the death penalty, to require mandatory background checks on private transfers of guns, as well as law enforcement and criminal justice reform, workers’ compensation reform, and some of the strongest voting rights protections in the nation.
• Chief Justice Anne M. Burke is a member of the Illinois Supreme Court representing the First Judicial District. She was appointed to the Supreme Court on July 6, 2006, was elected in 2008, and was retained in November 2018. In September 2019, she was elected by her colleagues to serve as Chief Justice and on October 26, 2019 her three-year term as Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court commenced. Her judicial career began in 1987 with an appointment to the Illinois Court of Claims by Governor Jim Thompson and a later reappointment by Governor Jim Edgar. Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Justice Burke served on the Appellate bench until July 5, 2006. Before serving on the Illinois Appellate Court, Justice Burke was Special Counsel for Child Welfare Services under Governor Jim Edgar and was a member of his Legislative Committee on Juvenile Justice. She provided in-depth leadership in reshaping and improving the Illinois juvenile justice system. Prior to her judicial career, Justice Burke was a physical education teacher with the Chicago Park District where she worked with children with learning differences. Having recognized the positive impact that sports had on her students, she championed the idea of a city-wide competition, which ultimately led to the creation of the Chicago Special Olympics in 1968 — growing later to become the International Special Olympics, reaching tens of millions of people in 192 nations across the globe. She later served as a Director of the International Special Olympics and remains involved with the Chicago Special Olympics to this day. Between 2002-2004, Justice Burke served as Interim Chair, directing the efforts of the National Review Board of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in its investigation of the causes and effects of the clerical sexual abuse scandal and helped to establish guidelines and policies for effectively responding to this scandal. She currently serves on the Executive Steering Committee of Kennedy Forum Illinois.