News Archive

June 16, 2026

To: Members of the Chicago City Council 
Re: Opposition to Ordinance Amending Chapter 8-16 (O2023-0005298)

Dear Members of the City Council, 

We write to urge you to reject the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 8-16 of the Chicago Municipal Code relating to juvenile conduct and parental responsibility. While the ordinance has been framed as a public safety measure, its penalty scheme is a disproportionate approach to problematic youth behavior that increases the City’s litigation risk.

November 21, 2025

The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender has opposed the State’s Attorney’s felony bypass policy since its inception, and we oppose any expansion.

This policy abandons prosecutors’ duty to review felony charges and simply hands that responsibility to police, who have an obvious incentive to bring charges, whether or not there is evidence to support them.

October 31, 2025

SPRINGFIELD, IL – A coalition of legal services, immigrant justice and civil rights, and domestic violence organizations is celebrating the early morning passage of statewide legislation to ban civil arrests in and around Illinois state courthouses. HB1312 extends protections recently enacted by court order in Cook County to all Illinois residents and enables civil penalties for violations of the law. 

October 15, 2025

October 1, 2025

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.

September 11, 2025

August 6, 2025

Earlier this week, the number of people in Cook County Jail exceeded 6,000 for the first time in more than three years. 

April 29, 2025

April 4, 2025

February 24, 2024

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.