Chicago Appleseed

@chicagoappleseed.org

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Addressing systemic issues in Chicago courts through research and advocacy 🍏

Court Observation & Education program Improve your understanding of the courts and contribute to local research and advocacy by court-watching. Chicago Appleseed trains community members of all backgrounds to observe criminal and civil court proceedings. Sign up to use your insights to guide our advocacy! Our ongoing civil asset forfeiture project is entirely virtual. You can learn about the civil legal system from your home. Civil Asset Forfeiture Hearings Join us and our partners at UIC for a second round of court-watching in civil asset forfeiture cases. [Strikethrough] Training: Tuesday, February 17, 6-7:30 PM Training: Wednesday, March 18, 6-7:30 PM Sign up for a training session: chicagoappleseed.org/coep-training Chicago Appleseed logo
Court Observation + Education Program We’re back with TWO exciting new court-watching projects, which are both virtual! Domestic Violence pretrial detention hearings Help us understand the arguments and atmosphere of pretrial detention hearings for domestic violence cases. Training: Tuesday, February 10, 6-7:30 PM Civil Asset Forfeiture Hearings Join us and our partners at UIC for a second round of court-watching in civil asset forfeiture cases. Training: Tuesday, February 17, 6-7:30 PM Sign up for a training session: chicagoappleseed.org/coep-training
Evicted in the Dark: What We Learned from Observing Eviction Courts Join us for a community conversation at Third Space about: The eviction process in Cook County Our findings from court-watching eviction proceedings What’s next for our court-watching program... including our next project! Thursday January 15th 6:30 - 8:00 PM Third Space 716 W Addison St Register today at chicagoappleseed.org/eviction-event
Evicted in the dark: What we learned from observing eviction courts Join us for a community conversation at Third Space about: The eviction process in Cook County Our findings from court-watching eviction proceedings What’s next for our court-watching program Thursday January 15th 6:30 - 8:00 PM Third Space 716 W Addison St
Date changed to December 10th Community teach-in! Who's Your Jailer? Wednesday, December 10th, 6-8pm Grace Place 637 S. Dearborn St. Join us for an evening with community leaders to talk about Burke's harms and how we can fight back against Cook County prosecutors. Register here! bit.ly/SATeach-in
Community event! Who's your jailer? Date: Wednesday, November 12th, 6-8pm Location: Grace Place, 637 S. Dearborn St. Join us for an evening with community leaders to talk about Burke's harms and how we can fight back against Cook County prosecutors. This event is hosted by the Cook County Coalition for Prosecutorial Accountability.
Figure 2: Demographics of tenants in Cook County eviction courts, by district Cook County: 50.8% Black, 22.8% Hispanic/Latine (not Black), 19.1% White (not Hispanic/Latine), 7.4% other/unknown Chicago: 70.8% Black, 19.5% Hispanic/Latine (not Black), 7.8% White (not Hispanic/Latine), 1.9% other/unknown Suburban districts: 44.2% Black, 23.9% Hispanic/Latine (not Black), 22.8% White (not Hispanic/Latine), 9.1% other/unknown
Figure 1: Presence of Attorneys for Tenants in Cook County Eviction Courts, by District Pie charts: Cook County: 13.9% attorney present, 86.1% no attorney present Chicago: 94.8% attorney present, 5.2% no attorney present Suburban districts: 16.5% attorney present, 83.5% no attorney present Findings from court-watchers' observations of 1,837 initial hearings between February and April 2025.
Pretrial court-watching Cook County’s jail population has been increasing, and we need your help to understand why! Court-watching is the only way for us to understand pretrial decision-making. Join us in observing detention hearings for gun possession cases in Chicago from July to September of 2025. Upcoming training dates: Tuesday, July 1 at 6pm (virtual) Tuesday, July 8 at 6pm (in person) More to come! Sign up for more information at chicagoappleseed.org/i-want-to-court-watch
Staff member Austin Segal and intern Patrick Reyna with Illinois Senator Adriane Johnson after she agreed to co-sponsor the FAIR Act
June 2, 2025 VICTORY THE FAIR ACT PASSES, OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER WILL BE ESTABLISHED Chicago Appleseed logo Statue holding sword and scale
Map depicting 5th and 7th Districts on the South Side of Chicago
Felony Review Bypass Program Law enforcement officer conducts an arrest (Chicago police) ——Officer presents case to on-duty lieutenant——> On-duty watch operation lieutenant determines if the case should be prosecuted in court (Chicago police) ——If approved, case is sent to court——> Bond court and preliminary hearings take place to determine if the defendant will be detained and charged (Circuit Court of Cook County)
Cook County Felony Charge Process Law enforcement officer conducts an arrest (Chicago police) ——Officer presents case to ASA——> ASA reviews the case and either files the felony or rejects the case (CCSAO) ——If approved, case is sent to court——> First appearance court and preliminary hearings take place to determine if the defendant will be detained and charged (Circuit Court of Cook County)
Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts April 30, 2025 State's Attorney's Felony Review Bypass Program Hinders Due Process, Gives Police Power to File Felony Gun Possession Charges [Visual: handcuffs connected to courthouse by curved line]
Logos: Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice and Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts Pretrial Fairness Act court-watching You can help us monitor the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act...just by attending court! Sign up for a training session at chicagoappleseed.org/pretrial-fairness-court-watching!
Each year, the Chicago Police Department seizes about 10,000 illegal guns and arrests thousands of people for illegal gun possession. Yet guns remain plentiful and easy to acquire, and young people who live in dangerous neighborhoods say they feel unsafe without them. But even as gun possession arrests increased, advocates and academic researchers said, enforcement disproportionately hit Black and Latino people without targeting those most likely to commit violence. Check out our report! October 2024 Punishing Fear Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts
The New York Times To Make Guns Less Dangerous, One Group Teaches Young People How to Use Them An organization in Chicago is trying to apply a strategy used for fighting drug addiction to reduce gun violence. By Shaila Dewan March 17, 2025
Requiring state’s attorneys to object on record when detention is denied and release on EM is granted demonstrates the administration’s disregard for an individualized approach to pretrial decisions, which is at the core of the Pretrial Fairness Act. “Decisions regarding release, conditions of release, and detention prior to trial must be individualized, and no single factor or standard may be used exclusively to order detention” (Pretrial Fairness Act).
We strongly oppose State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s new policy that requires prosecutors to object on the record in all cases where their petition to detain an accused person pretrial is denied and that person is released on electronic monitoring.
Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts Statement on State’s Attorney Burke’s New EM Policy [Houses behind fencing]
Logos: Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice and Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts Pretrial Fairness Act court-watching You can help us monitor the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act...just by attending court! Sign up for a training session at chicagoappleseed.org/pretrial-fairness-court-watching!