News & Events

Electronic monitoring — instituted nearly 30 years ago as a safety valve for an overcrowded county jail — has emerged as the latest battleground in the fight to reform bond court in Cook County, sparking heated debate over public safety in a city struggling to contain gun violence. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Amy Campanelli, the Cook County Public Defender held an open house on April 26, to celebrate the completion of the renovation of their offices at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.

Public defenders from across the country gathered in Denver last week to talk about best practices for diverting people suffering from mental health issues away from the criminal justice system at a conference hosted by the Equitas Project.

On February 24, 2018, Rich Central High School Mock Trial Team, coached by Cook County Public Defender Attorney Supervisor Connie Jordan, took 1st place in the Cook County 6th District Circuit Court High School Mock Trial competition.

The Cook County Public Defender's Office received the Clara Shortridge Foltz Award from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and the American Bar Association. The award, bestowed every other year, recognizes a public defender program or defense delivery system for outstanding achievement in the provision of defense services to the poor.

Crystal Brown was awarded the Bruce Robert Jacobs Award by the Illinois Public Defender Association at its October 2017 meeting.

Amy Campanelli defends her budget before the Cook County Board of Commissioners. She warns that ANY cuts to her budget will result in less service to the citizens of Cook County as well as higher costs for representing the accused.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/cook-county-inmates-masturbating-public-defenders/

The Cook County’s public defender, whose office represents low-income defendants, warned Monday that she would stop accepting some new criminal cases if a new round of proposed countywide budget cuts go through.

On October 4, 2017, MacArthur Foundation President Julia Stasch announced a grant of $1.85 Million dollars to the Cook County Criminal Justice System to help promote the goal of further reducing the population of the Cook County Jail.

On August  1, 2017, Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli, along with Cook County Commissioner Jesus Garcia, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County Dorothy Brown, held a press conference to report on the memorandum prepared by former Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder, Jr., which analyzed the bond court system in Illinois, and particularly in Cook County, and made recommendations for reform.  

The argument of the Public Defender is that her clients deserve the same level of confidence that their interests will be served by the assistant public defender that is appointed to represent them as do the clients of any private attorney.

Chicago Tonight interview with Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans and Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli.