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.
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
To the Members of the Chicago City Council:
I have been close to gun violence my entire life. Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, I’ve seen my classmates carry firearms to keep themselves and their families safe from harm. And I later represented some of those same individuals in court—being prosecuted for firearm possession—when I started work as a public defender.
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A power struggle has been brewing in Cook County, where job offers to several attorneys from Public Defender Sharone Mitchell were rescinded after confusion over the county's drug policy.
Recreational marijuana became legal in Illinois last January. That complicated the hiring process for many, including a handful of attorneys offered jobs months ago by the Cook County Public Defender's Office. Their offers were revoked when drug tests came back positive for marijuana.
