Latest News - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

Prison Reform Advocates Call to End Civil Commitment in Illinois

A new report from the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) focusing on U.S. systems of confinement calls for the end of civil commitment. Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts supports this call. In Illinois, for example, the Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities are overseen by the John...

Launching our online merchandise shop!

We are so excited to announce the launch of our online store! Help support our work by publicizing our mission while you're out and about and by gifting our merchandise to your friends. Go to chicagoappleseed.org/shop to shop available products, such as Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair C...

Looking Forward to the End of Chicago’s Contract with ShotSpotter

The City of Chicago’s contract with ShotSpotter, which was set to expire in August, was recently quietly extended by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to February of next year—while Chicago’s new Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson was campaigning in the fall. This maneuver is disappointing in terms of exhibiting the ci...

Criminalizing Despair: The Intersections of Pretrial Incarceration and Housing Insecurity

Housing; enter it as a quick google search and your newsfeed will be populated by articles describing affordable housing shortages, mortgage rate hikes, and local real estate developments. Take a cursory look at some of these stories, and it’s clear that safe and affordable housing represents a fund...

NEW REPORT | One Size Doesn’t Fit All: A Review of Post-Plea Problem-Solving Courts in Cook County

Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers are excited to release our new report, One Size Doesn’t Fit All: A Review of Post-Plea Problem-Solving Courts in Cook County. In it, we offer a holistic picture of the scope of specialty (or "problem-solving") courts, which...