Courts and Public Accountability

“Judge Sullivan, Take Note”, an editorial in the Chicago Tribune Monday, June 9th, reminds us that the courtrooms do not belong to the judges, they belong to the people. The editorial references two recent steps by courts administrators to make Illinois’ courts more open and transparent: the Illinoi...
June 10, 2014

Poor Defendants and Access to Justice

Submitted by Aswan Taylor, Chicago Appleseed Intern Last year, a Chicago Appleseed investigation found that Cook County courts were routinely denying defendants a public defense, or ordering reimbursement for public defenders’ services, simply because the defendant had posted bond. As noted in Ma...
June 3, 2014

Policy Statement on Docket Statistic Reporting

Chicago Appleseed advocates for research-driven solutions to systemic dysfunction and supports evidence-based reforms in Illinois’ courts, government and communities. Our staff and teams of pro bono professionals rely on meaningful data about Cook County’s courts in order to identify inefficiencies,...
May 14, 2014

The Clerk of the Court Should Serve the Community

The Clerk of the Court of Cook County has considered—and apparently rejected—a policy change that would have charged all parties to receive the first copy of any order issued in their case. At Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers, we are glad to learn that this policy won’t be adopte...
May 8, 2014