Latest News - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

Announcing Policy Positions on Criminal Court Fines, Fees, & Costs + Action Needed Today!

To skip right to action step and file a witness slip in support of The Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act (HB 4594), click here! In one of the richest countries in the world, local and state governments impose the costs of financing the criminal court system on the backs of those who can least af...

The Case for Digital Recording in Cook County

Injustice Watch did some great reporting on the consequences to self-represented people when there is no proper court record of their hearings—particularly in eviction court. Chicago Appleseed has been working with LAF, Cabrini Green Legal Aid, CARPLS, Center for Disability and Elder Law, Chicago Vo...

The Domestic Relations Hearing Officer Program is Helping Families

The good reputation of the hearing officer program in domestic relations is growing with its reach in the branch courts. In the branch courts, hearing officers are completing—on average—four divorces a day and hearing over 30 cases (divorce, parentage, IV-D and non-IV-D, parenting time and support i...

Thoughts on the Judicial Primary

We’re just past the March 2018 primary. Before the election, Vote for Judges received about 55,000 unique visitors with about 100,000 viewed/downloaded pages. The evaluations collected by Vote for Judges were aggregated through a number of ballot reference websites, like Ballot Ready. It’s great to...

Evidence-Based Reform and Gun Violence

Chicago Appleseed and Chicago Council of Lawyers have joined a letter urging Congress to formally repeal the Dickey Amendment that currently creates an effective ban on federal health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) from conducting research into the causes, effects, and evidence-...