This week, the number of people in Cook County Jail exceeded 6,000 for the first time in more than three years. The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender is deeply concerned about the recent rise in pretrial jailing—incarceration before any decision on guilt or innocence has been made by a judge or jury.
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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.
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.
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 Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender heartily congratulates Assistant Public Defenders Caroline Glennon-Goodman and Loveleen Ahuja on their appointments to the 10th and 8th judicial subcircuit vacancies, respectively.
The Cook County Public Defender’s Office is pleased that the Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Pretrial Fairness Act. Illinois can now end a great injustice that distorted the criminal legal system and move forward with removing the price tag from the presumption of innocence.
The Cook County Public Defender’s Office mourns the tragic death of Tyre Nichols. Tyre deserved to live a full and beautiful life. Instead, another young Black person’s family is coping with the reality that the individuals entrusted to serve and protect us all took their loved one’s life in a savage fashion.
The Illinois Supreme Court today issued an order suspending implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act while it reviews a lower court opinion that found the law unconstitutional.
The Cook County Public Defender’s Office is disappointed that this historic and transformative law will not take effect as planned tomorrow, Jan. 1.
A judge in Kankakee County issued an opinion that part of the SAFE-T Act is unconstitutional. The judge’s ruling impacts the Pretrial Fairness Act, the portion of the SAFE-T Act that reforms pretrial release conditions and ends money bond. All other measures of the SAFE-T Act remain intact, and we anticipate the judge’s ruling will be reviewed by the Illinois Supreme Court.
The Cook County Public Defender's Office is relieved that the Illinois Supreme Court will have the opportunity to clarify the constitutionality of the Pretrial Fairness Act soon. In the meantime, we expect the law to go into effect on January 1, 2023 in Cook County.