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chicagoappleseed.org
Chicago Appleseed
@chicagoappleseed.org
Addressing systemic issues in Chicago courts through research and advocacy 🍏
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We’re excited to introduce ourselves on here! Chicago Appleseed is a nonprofit who researches the harms of the legal system in Chicago and advocates for anti-racist solutions to systemic injustices. Read about some of our recent work. 🧵
Reposted by Chicago Appleseed
Pretrial jailing in Cook County has increased dramatically since Eileen O'Neill Burke took office last year.

Learn about the harmful policies that State's Attorney Burke has put in place & how communities are fighting back on 12/10 at Grace Place(637 S Dearborn)!

Register at: bit.ly/SATeach-in
November 25, 2025 at 6:12 PM
UPDATE: State’s Attorney Burke announced on Friday that she is expanding this policy citywide, despite the call to end the policy from 130+ organizations and community leaders. Read our statement here: www.chicagoappleseed.org/2025/11/25/s...
November 25, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Reposted by Chicago Appleseed
We are alarmed by State’s Attorney Burke's elimination of felony review in gun possession cases.

This policy ignores decades of police misconduct, while signaling that Burke is not committed to preventing, combatting, or protecting people from misconduct.
endmoneybond.org/states-attor...
State’s Attorney’s Decision to Eliminate Felony Review of Gun Possession Charges Is Ripe for Abuse - Coalition to End Money Bond
In January 2025, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office instituted what they call the “Felony Review Bypass Program,” which allows the Chicago Police Department to file felony charges directly for ...
endmoneybond.org
November 21, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Join us on Dec. 10 for a teach in on our new state attorney's first year in office: actionnetwork.org/events/commu...
November 20, 2025 at 6:57 AM
What happens to your property after an arrest? South Side Weekly covers the difficulty in getting your personal belongings back after an arrest - with a nod to our civil asset forfeiture work.

Read it here: southsideweekly.com/getting-your...
November 18, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Join our partners at the Free2Move Coalition and the First Defense Legal Aid for a Traffic Stops: Know Your Rights event on Saturday, November 15, 2025 (2–4PM) at Walls Turned Sideways, 2717 W Madison St.

Food will be provided!

🔗 Register now: bit.ly/TrafficStopsTownhall
November 14, 2025 at 2:47 PM
UPDATE: The community teach-in has been moved to December 10. Register now to hear Chicago Appleseed staff and other advocates and researchers talk about the Cook County State's Attorney's policies and their consequences! bit.ly/SATeach-in
November 11, 2025 at 6:25 PM
UPDATE: The community teach-in has been moved to December! Come to the event to hear from our staff as well as other advocates and researchers about State's Attorney O'Neill Burke's policies and their consequences.
November 11, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Our 2025 Future Justice Lawyers of Chicago (FJLOC) students’ reports on the criminal system, immigration, and healthcare in jails and prisons are out now and available on our website.

Read the reports here: www.chicagoappleseed.org/2025/11/05/2...
Future Justice Lawyers of Chicago - NEW: Future Justice Lawyers of Chicago Students' Reports on the Criminal System, Immigration, and Healthcare in Jails & Prisons — Available Now!
This year's FJLOC cohort of 51 high school and undergraduate participants collaborated on these group research projects around criminal justice, health care in prisons and jails, and immigration…
www.chicagoappleseed.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Get to know our guest of honor, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, ahead of our event next week! Buy tickets now at chicagoappleseed.org/events
October 28, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Join us at this community event to learn about our State's Attorney's policies and their consequences!
October 20, 2025 at 7:13 PM
This is a great read in the New York Times (!!!) about the firearm #HarmReduction work put into practice by our partners at Stick Talk.

Check it out: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/u...
October 16, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Check out 🔗bit.ly/evictedinthedark to learn about what our court-watchers saw when they observed hundreds of eviction hearings in Cook County.
October 14, 2025 at 3:57 PM
At midyear budget hearings, State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke outlined key funding priorities in her office, including a push to establish an in-house forensics lab.

But the conflict of interest is clear...and we have concerns.

📌 Learn more: www.chicagoappleseed.org/2025/09/23/i...
The Results Are In: Forensic Labs Under Prosecutorial Control Are Problematic  - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts
The Cook County State’s Attorney is pushing for funding to establish an in-house forensics lab. Here are several reasons this is a bad idea.
www.chicagoappleseed.org
October 10, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Join us on Monday, November 10 to celebrate where we’ve been and where we’re going—and how we’re staying rooted in justice along the way. Featuring Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle & Public Defender Sharone Mitchell, Jr.

🌱 Get your tickets at chicagoappleseed.org/events
October 9, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Chicago Appleseed is #hiring a creative, organized, and passionate Communications Assistant to join our team on a part-time basis (10-16 hours/week), starting in November.

If you're interested or know someone who is, fill out the application at 🔗chicagoappleseed.org/apply.
October 7, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Reposted by Chicago Appleseed
“One of the biggest challenges was the rapid pace at which cases were called and resolved, often with little explanation for those unfamiliar with legal terminology or procedure.”

www.chicagoappleseed.org/2025/08/27/n...

via @chicagoappleseed.org

#housing+ #urbanism+ #urbanism
NEW Court-Watching Report - Evicted in the Dark: Findings & Observations from Cook County Eviction Courts
New court-watching report shows Cook County eviction courts are far from accessible for tenants, who are overwhelming Black and Latine people without legal representation.
www.chicagoappleseed.org
September 16, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Chicago Appleseed
Next week! Two of my favorite things: systemic reform @chicagoappleseed.org and nonsense @popupkaraoke.com !

Get your tickets here: bit.ly/karaokeforadvocacy
September 22, 2025 at 7:57 PM
What’s at stake in the race for Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County? Our Co-Executive Directors spoke to @InjusticeWatch about what they're keeping an eye on.

Read the article 👉
What’s at stake in the race for Cook County chief judge
Incumbent Timothy Evans has served for 24 years, already the longest of any chief judge in Cook County history. Two challengers are vying for control of a court system that gavels in half a million…
www.injusticewatch.org
September 9, 2025 at 3:57 PM
#FlashbackFriday—Last November, Research Manager Austin Segal and doctoral student, Alexa Cinque, presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting about our research on the Restorative Justice Community Courts (RJCCs) in Cook County.

📌 www.chicagoappleseed.org/2024/02/22/r...
September 5, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Forfeiture is an "avalanche of petty theft" — for many property owners, hiring a lawyer to fight it is worth more than the cash/items seized, so the state keeps their property. chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2...
Victims of wrongful asset seizures shouldn’t get pinched by legal system
The cost of hiring a lawyer in a forfeiture case typically exceeds the value of the seized property, meaning forfeiture targets can lose even when they win.
chicago.suntimes.com
September 4, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Looks like a great event! We’ll definitely be attending :)
September 2025 marks two years since Illinois implemented the Pretrial Fairness Act and ended money bail.

Join us and some special guests on Tuesday, September 16th at 6pm for an online event marking this historic anniversary. Register here: forms.gle/Y1mHJuaxq6Wb...
September 3, 2025 at 3:49 PM
This Thursday, September 4 @ 1:00 pm CT, our Senior Attorney, Elizabeth Monkus, will be speaking on this webinar about the unlawful federal takeover of the city and what it means for us here in Chicago.

Register at bit.ly/DCTakeover_Appleseed
September 2, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Reposted by Chicago Appleseed
NEW: @chicagoappleseed.org dropped a new eviction court-watching report! We haven't had one in a WHILE. Findings include:
-most tenants are Black or Brown women/feminine-presenting people w/out lawyers
-the court is regularly failing to provide interpreters
www.chicagoappleseed.org/2025/08/27/n...
NEW Court-Watching Report - Evicted in the Dark: Findings & Observations from Cook County Eviction Courts
New court-watching report shows Cook County eviction courts are far from accessible for tenants, who are overwhelming Black and Latine people without legal representation.
www.chicagoappleseed.org
August 29, 2025 at 4:00 PM
We sent our court-watchers to observe Cook County eviction courts! Here's what they found: (1/6)
August 29, 2025 at 4:18 PM