Sharone Mitchell, Jr., is the public defender for Cook County, which includes Chicago, a city with some of the strictest gun laws in the country. Growing up on the South Side, Mitchell was raised to believe that guns are dangerous and harmful, a view that was reinforced by his experiences as a public defender and gun control advocate. But those experiences have also led him to believe that gun-permitting laws are harmful, as he explains to Lulu Garcia-Navarro in this episode of the New York Times First Person podcast.
2022 News Archive
False alarms involving electronic monitors are a huge issue for clients of the Cook County Public Defender's Office who are placed on house arrest while awaiting trial. The consequences can be very serious, including being put in jail or charged with a crime. The Chicago Reader and The Triibe looked into this issue.
Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell was quoted in the story as follows:
Dozens of children have been unjustly held in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center even though judges ordered them released. That is because the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services says it has nowhere to send them. Andrea Lubelfeld, Chief of our Juvenile Division, spoke out about the problem in a story for WBEZ.
Below is an excerpt from the story.
Illinois is routinely housing wards of the state in Chicago’s jail for kids
May 9, 2022, CHICAGO – In a historic step, attorneys from the Cook County Public Defender’s Office Immigration Unit Pilot have begun representing immigrants in bond hearings and removal proceedings before the Chicago Immigration Court.
A typical day for Alicia Stewart, an investigator with the Public Defender’s office for 21 years, involves six hours on the road, driving from Wilmette to Calumet, knocking on doors to talk to witnesses who can help build a defense case. She even travels out of state, flying as far as Arizona to interview witnesses and make arrangements for people to come testify in Cook County.
To read the original publication of this op-ed click here.
Gun violence is Chicago’s greatest challenge, causing untold hurt and harm.
But Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposed Victims Justice Ordinance – which would authorize the City of Chicago to bring civil lawsuits against alleged gang members and the people around them, often unsuspecting family members — will not reduce gun violence. In fact, it will make intra-community violence worse by making poor communities poorer, making anti-violence workers’ jobs harder and further eroding police-community relations.
Community Groups Join ACLU and Cook County Public Defender Urging City to Drop It
An alliance of faith-based and anti-violence community leaders have joined policy organizations and government agencies to call on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to drop her plan to use new civil asset forfeiture powers in response to gun violence in Chicago. Organizations opposing the ordinance include the ACLU of Illinois, Shriver Center on Poverty Law, Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts, the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender, and others.
Sent via electronic mail on January 13, 2022
Re: “Victims Justice Ordinance”
To the Members of the Chicago City Council: