Collaboration for Justice at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law

It's voting day! If you're feeling confused about why there are judges on your ballot and how you should evaluate them, please take a couple minutes to scan http://www.voteforjudges.org/ . It's a great resource that summarizes how various legal organizations have assessed the judges who are up for a retention vote today. Your vote can determine who gets to make important decisions in our criminal justice system!

Vote For Judges For more information about elections in Cook County, visit the County Clerk’s website: www.cookctyclerk.com/ or the City of Chicago Board of Elections’ website: www.chicagoelections.com

Join us this Thursday evening! All are welcome. Contact [email protected] with questions.

Bail Fund for Stop Richard Spencer at MSU On March 5, 2018, notorious white supremacist leader Richard Spencer is speaking at Michigan State University. Funds donated here will be used for bail and legal support for people arrested standing up to this hate monger and his followers.

Tomorrow! Join CFJ and cosponsors Northwestern University BLSA, Public Interest Law Group - Northwestern Law, and OUTLaw to hear from Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., one of the greatest and most prominent civil rights leaders of our time. All are welcome.

The Chicago Community Bond Fund is doing great work to hold judges accountable at bond hearings.

See below for their initial findings on compliance with Chief Judge Evans' order that judges must not set bond at an amount higher than a person can afford to pay.

Volunteers with The Coalition to End Money Bond have consistently observed judges failing to effectively implement Chief Judge Evans’ General Order 18.8A over the first month of its implementation. The order aims to ensure that no one is incarcerated at Cook County Jail simply because they are unable to post bond. Coalition courtwatchers were in bond court all month observing implementation of the order since it took effect on September 18th. While advocates have been happy to see a decrease in the number of people being given money bonds, the Coalition is deeply disturbed that bond court judges are still setting bonds beyond what people can pay and that judges in criminal court rooms have failed to review those bonds.

We are deeply disappointed to see that nothing is being done to hold these judges accountable. Order 18.8A clearly states that no one is to be held at Cook County Jail because they can’t afford to post bond, and yet we’ve seen 110 people given bonds beyond what they could afford in the last month. Moreover, nothing has been done for the approximately 4,000 people currently locked up in Cook County Jail only because their bonds were set above what they could pay prior to the order going into effect.

In the last month, more than 1,000 people had bond hearings in Central Bond Court. Of those people, approximately 350 were given D-bonds, meaning they have to pay 10% of their bond to get out of jail. While this represents significantly fewer D-Bonds than were set prior to General Order 18.8A, courtwatchers observed 110 bonds set at amounts higher than what people said they could pay, in direct violation of the order and likely resulting in the unconstitutional detention of those individuals.

General Order 18.8A also requires a bond review within seven days for anyone who remains incarcerated due to their inability to pay a money bond. During that review, judges are supposed to either reduce the bond to an affordable amount, release people without having to pay anything, or make a transparent and reviewable decision to detain them without bond as required by the Due Process clause and Illinois law. Chicago Community Bond Fund tracked the status of more than 180 cases in which people were given money bonds after the order went into effect. Within seven days, only half of those people were able to post their bonds. Fewer than 10 received reduced bonds that they were able to pay at their review hearings. The overwhelming majority of people with bonds they were unable to pay received no bond review hearing at all and remained in Cook County jail after the 7 day review period passed.

The Chicago Community Bond Fund continues to receive calls from people requesting help paying their bonds. CCBF has received nearly 100 requests for assistance and has posted two bonds since the order went into effect on September 18, 2017. These people were denied bond reviews and would have been unable to free themselves from Cook County Jail without CCBF’s assistance.

From Central Bond Court to individual criminal courtrooms, many judges are denying people in Cook County their constitutional rights. If someone is given a bond they can’t pay and subsequently denied a review of that bond, they are being incarcerated in direct conflict with General Order 18.8A. This order has the potential to revolutionize the pretrial justice system in Cook County, but it cannot be effective if judges are allowed to simply ignore it and continue setting unpayable money bonds.

In the last month court watchers also witnessed an increase in the number of people being given punitive pretrial conditions like curfews, drug testing, check-in’s with pretrial services, and electronic monitoring. More than 275 people were placed on electronic monitoring (house arrest) in the last month. These onerous restrictions on pretrial liberty can cause many of the same negative effects as pretrial detention, including lost jobs, lost housing, and other

While General Order 18.8A is clear that judges are not supposed to set bonds above what people can pay, the Order says absolutely nothing about expanding other forms of punishment before trial. This expansion is a disturbing outcome for an initiative designed to protect people's rights while awaiting trial.

The Coalition to End Money Bond continues to push for the full implementation of General Order 18.8A and a dramatic reduction in the population of Cook County Jail. Next month, the Coalition will release a report detailing its courtwatchers’ observations of Central Bond Court between August and October of this year. In the meantime, Chicago Community Bond Fund continues to post bond for people incarcerated in the jail only as a result of poverty, and will soon post bond for our 100th person.

Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans has announced a new rule for judges making bond decisions in Cook County that should dramatically decrease the use of money bond and as a result, pretrial incarceration. The new rule (General Order 18.A) instructs judges to do 3 things:
1 - Find out how much, if anything, someone accused of a crime could pay for bond;
2 - Set bond only in that amount or less; and
3 - Review all cases in which someone hasn't posted that bond within 7 days.

If implemented well and followed by judges, the rule could dramatically decrease the number of people incarcerated in Cook County Jail. Currently, 62% of people in CCJ are there only because they cannot post bonds. In practice, these more than 4,000 people are being incarcerated pretrial for being poor. Most of their bail hearings were held in less than a minute, and without consideration of their resources as required by current Illinois state law.

The rule is set to be effective September 18, 2017 for people charged with felonies (which includes almost everyone in the jail) and January 1, 2018 for people charged with misdemeanors. Under the new process, everyone in Cook County Jail because they cannot pay a bond should be released without having to pay money at all, have a new bond set in a lower amount that they can pay and be released, or be given a full detention hearing with all the due process protections that come with that. Vigilant oversight will be needed to ensure people are not detained at higher rates than they are now.

Since our formation, Chicago Community Bond Fund has campaigned for the elimination of money bond because it is the primary cause of pretrial detention in Cook County, and it is fundamentally unfair. As the new rule begins to take effect, we will continue to accept requests for help paying bond and evaluating whether or not judges are following the order. We will also continue to advocate for people accused of crimes and their families, including pushing back against onerous pretrial conditions of surveillance and control such as house arrest, electronic monitoring, drug testing, and pretrial curfews.

As more people are released pretrial, we anticipate an increase in the use of these harmful conditions and increased jail admissions based on alleged "violations." CCBF opposes pretrial punishment in all its forms and will continue to support people involved in the criminal legal system so that they can survive and thrive with as little interference as possible.

Like all reforms, this tentative victory is the result of outside pressure on the criminal legal system. This order is a direct response to the pressure of a lawsuit that threatens to declare Cook County's money bail system unconstitutional. Even the Department of Justice has stated that jailing people only because they do not have money is constitutionally unacceptable. At the same time, grassroots movements demanding criminal legal system reform, including the Movement for Black Lives, have generated nationwide momentum for bail reform. Cook County is no different. This victory, when it comes time to claim it, will belong to all of us. Thank you for your support.

You can read Chief Judge Evans's press release here: http://www.cookcountycourt.org/MEDIA/ViewPressRelease/tabid/338/ArticleId/2561/Evans-changes-cash-bail-process-for-more-pretrial-release.aspx We will link to the order text directly as soon as it is available!

Introducing Principles for Bail Reform in Cook County The pretrial detention system in Cook County needs reform. Cook County Jail incarcerates approximately 7,500 people per day. An additional 2,000 people are under the Sheriff’s supervision through electronic monitoring. More than 90% of the people detained are pretrial and thus presumed innocent—a co...

Here's how state lawmakers plan to reform the bail system in California New language added to bills would prevent criminal defendants from having to post money as a condition of release from jail and would shift some power from judges to pretrial services agencies.

Last September, CCBF posted $3,100 to free Doris from Cook County Jail. Doris is 66 years old and a resident of Chicago’s South Side. She was charged with welfare fraud crimes and spent almost one month in jail because she could not afford her bond. Doris was given a $31,000 bond (requiring payment of 10% of that amount) despite the fact that she had no significant criminal background. While inside, she was one of the oldest women in her division. Doris had to visit CCJ's medical unit several times per week for her high blood pressure and other health issues.

Just thirty days of pretrial incarceration causes people to lose access to essential benefits such as social security and disability payments, medicaid, and other necessary supports. It can take months to get these supports resumed once a person gets out, which disrupts access to medical care and other necessities. That delay severely hinders the ability of people incarcerated pretrial to get back on their feet when they get out, and can cause them to lose their housing. Thankfully, in Doris's situation, CCBF was able to post bond for her before this 30-day mark, preventing a lapse in her social security benefits.

Last month, Doris' case resolved when she pled guilty and was sentenced to probation, meaning she will not go back to jail. By posting Doris’ bond, CCBF prevented her from having to spend an additional six months in Cook County Jail. Doris' bond money is now returning to CCBF's revolving fund, where it will be used to get someone else out of jail or house arrest in the future!

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Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2017 Report showing the number of people who are locked up in different types of facilities and why

SUPPORT HB 2591 - Fill out a witness slip as a proponent.

When people go to court, they have to pay fees. In Illinois, the laws that govern those fees are stupefyingly complex. They make it difficult to calculate how much any one person should be required to pay, they're applied inconsistently from county to county, and they can place immense burdens on people of little means.

HB2591 simplifies the fee system, caps the amount that can be charged, and provides for waivers based on ability to pay.

If you want to show your support for HB2591, follow the link and fill out the quick form. (You can enter "self" in Part II.) Make sure you note that you're a PROPONENT of the bill and select "record of appearance only."

Witness Slip Dashboard for the Illinois General Assembly