The Cook County inspector general accused former public defender Amy Campanelli of inappropriately sharing data on her office’s youth clients to benefit a nonprofit organization where she later took a job.
But a lack of funding and personnel could drastically limit how many immigrants the county can represent.
At the start of the pandemic, the Illinois Supreme Court suspended defendants’ constitutional rights to a speedy trial as courtrooms closed throughout the state. But even as pandemic restrictions are lifted across the board, the right to a speedy trial remains on hold.
Illinois is one of just seven states with no statewide oversight of public defenders. A new bill passed by the Illinois General Assembly would create a task force to further study public defender caseloads and quality of representation.
Sharone Mitchell Jr., who took over the public defender’s office in April, hopes to add more attorneys and work with community groups fighting for racial justice and systemic change.
A fair and equitable justice system depends on the public defenders whose job it is to represent those people who cannot afford a lawyer. Public defense work is civil rights work. It is the public defender who raises questions about interrogation methods, unlawful police stops, and excessive bail. It is also racial justice work. Nowhere is racial injustice more apparent than in the impact our criminal laws have had on people of color, particularly Black people.
In an exclusive interview during her last week in office, Amy Campanelli said she has ‘no regrets’ and continued to rail against police and a system that she called ‘racist’ and ‘very unfair.’
A new unit within the Cook County public defender’s office wants better representation for noncitizens clients at risk of being deported.
Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge says the new rules he imposed on bond court have driven down the number of pretrial detainees ordered to post cash to be released from custody. “The new system is doing just what I had promised you it would do,” he tells Cook County commissioners at Friday hearing.