Latest News - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

Filling Judicial Vacancies

The Chicago Tribune has reported that Justice Freeman of the Illinois Supreme Court has appointed his long-time law clerk, Jean Cocozza, to a vacancy in the Circuit Court. The Tribune reports that Judge Cocozza has no courtroom experience and that she was not evaluated for judicial service by any in...

Policy Brief: Community Courts in Cook County

Today we release a two-part policy brief discussing an alternative prosecution strategy called community-based justice. Part I makes the case for community-base justice by comparing Cook County’s current misdemeanor justice system--which adjudicates over 150,000 misdemeanors annually (pdf)--with com...

Proposals to Reform the Judicial Retention Process

Two bills recently introduced into the Illinois state legislature have caught our attention. Representative Kelly Cassidy has sponsored HJRCA0010, a proposal to amend the Illinois constitution and create a judicial performance commission for the evaluation of judicial retention candidates. Rep. C...

Did you vote in the judicial retention election last year?

Did you vote in the judicial retention election last year? Chances are that you did not. There were 59 judges on the retention ballot and their names were listed in a seemingly random order—not alphabetical, not grouped by court division, just 59 names and the questioned “should this judge be retai...

Ballot Order for Judicial Retention Candidates

Ballot order for judicial retention candidates is essentially nonsensical to the voter. They’re not alphabetical. The ballot order of retention candidates is not based on filing date, either. They are in an order set by statute, 10 ILCS 5/16-6.1 The judicial retention candidates are identified on t...