Latest News - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

Support for SB 1830: Reducing Barriers to Recovery

Updated: February 10, 2023 Illinois has made great strides in reforming its laws and attempting to end mass incarceration, the war on drugs, and other harms caused by the criminal legal system. In January, Illinois made itself a national criminal justice leader by being the first state to com...

Chicago City Council passes Ordinance (02023-904)—the latest of several policies aimed at creating hefty municipal penalties.

Today, an ordinance (02023-904) to create enhanced penalties for “aggravated assault” on emergency workers, firefighters, and police officers – introduced by Alderman Matt O’Shea – passed Chicago City Council. This ordinance is the latest in a series of ordinances aimed at creating hefty municipal p...

We’ve Joined 400+ Organizations in Urging the Illinois Supreme Court to Affirm the Constitutionality of the Pretrial Fairness Act

Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers have joined the 37 members of the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice and 389 other national, state, and local organizations in submitting an amicus brief to the Illinois Supreme Court in the case of Rowe vs. Raoul, which...

NEW REPORT: Fear and Silence – How Culture, Policy, and the ”Win At All Costs” Mentality Allows Police Testilying to Thrive

Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and Chicago Council of Lawyers work together to seek evidence-based solutions to social injustices. In early 2022, we began researching the issue of false reporting and police perjury — sometimes known as ”testilying” — in Circuit Court of Cook County. Our f...

Collaboration for Justice and the Court Transparency Coalition

Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers—the Collaboration for Justice—are pleased to be part of the Court Transparency Coalition, led by the Better Government Association. As advocates for fair and open courts, Chicago Appleseed and the Council of Lawyers h...