Criminal Justice
Bond court reforms may lead to more punitive pretrial conditions: report
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Efforts to reduce the number of poor defendants jailed in Cook County could have harmful unintended consequences, the Chicago Community Bond Fund says.
Perspectives: The Powers That Be
Kim Foxx should stop defending disgraced cop and start investigating him
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Retired detective Reynaldo Guevara now faces allegations that he ran an extortion scheme in addition to framing Latino men for a series of murders in Chicago.
Perspectives
Chicago incentivizes abusive policing through overtime policy
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The inspector general found that CPD’s poor oversight led to unnecessary arrests that wasted millions and hurt black and brown communities.
Perspectives
How prisons inflate white voting power in downstate Illinois
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Prison gerrymandering boosts rural electorates at the expense of urban communities of color, where most inmates come from.
Perspectives: The Powers That Be
Could black cops ‘taking a knee’ revive a push to organize?
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Black officers in Chicago have a long history of challenging racist policing, says Buzz Palmer, founder of the defunct Afro-American Patrolman’s League.
Perspectives: The Powers That Be
Gang database compromises Chicago’s sanctuary city protections
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With the police department’s discriminatory database allegedly sparking deportations, immigrant and African-American groups are teaming up to challenge it.
Criminal Justice
Chicago police slow to make Justice Department’s recommended reforms
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In the absence of a consent decree and independent monitor, The Chicago Reporter is tracking CPD’s progress on police reform.
Perspectives
Past incarceration does not bar you from voting in Illinois
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Many of the state’s 4 million people with past felony convictions may be unaware that they have a right to vote after prison, while on probation or parole, or even while awaiting trial in jail.
Perspectives: The Powers That Be
Emanuel shuts out community role in police reform—again
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In reversing his stance on a consent decree for Chicago police, the mayor continues to resist ceding control to those directly affected by abusive policing.
Criminal Justice
Ability to vote compromised for thousands behind bars
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Ambiguous state law means the voting rights of inmates varies widely between jails, disproportionately affecting poor blacks and Latinos awaiting trial in Illinois.