The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender and 13 criminal and civil legal aid and social services organizations, including nine specializing in serving survivors of domestic and sexual violence, formally petitioned the court today.
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CHICAGO — The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender proudly announces the opening of its second community-based office, the Freedom Defense Center of Austin (FDCA), located inside the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation on Chicago’s West Side.
The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender congratulates Judge Charles Beach II on his election as the new Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Earlier this week, the number of people in Cook County Jail exceeded 6,000 for the first time in more than three years.
CHICAGO – The Law Office of the County Public Defender is celebrating the passage of five new bills by the Illinois General Assembly during the 2025 spring session.
New community office will bring holistic legal defense and support services to Chicago’s South Side.
CHICAGO—Today, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle joined Cook County Public Defender Sharone R. Mitchell, Jr., community members, elected officials, and partner organizations to officially open the Freedom Defense Center of Roseland (FDCR)—a first-of-its-kind community-based law office dedicated to providing holistic legal defense and wraparound services for residents of the South Side.
The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender urges the Chicago City Council to reject the proposed “snap” curfew ordinance. This proposal is a throwback to past failures, allowing law enforcement to issue curfews on brief notice, with little or no opportunity for young people and their caregivers to respond appropriately. Its passage would set the stage for arbitrary sweeps and increase unnecessary and dangerous police interactions with youth.
The Cook County Public Defender’s Office is deeply concerned about the expansion of the State’s Attorney’s program that allows Chicago Police Department officers to bypass felony review in cases involving gun possession. There is no doubt that this change is rooted in a desire to build safer communities; but this change removes a critical layer of oversight that helps ensure charges are legally sound, factually supported, and brought in the interest of justice.
On January 25, 2024, the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender notified the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Iris Y. Martinez, and her staff that her Office had publicly exposed confidential juvenile records via their recently launched criminal case records search function on their website.
The exposure of these juvenile records clearly violates the Juvenile Court Act, which provides that all juvenile case information must be kept confidential.