In settlement of rare lawsuit by Cook County Circuit Court’s chief judge against the county, courts win right to decide how budget cuts in court system are enacted; Cook County wins some, but not all, budget cuts it sought.
The state Supreme Court is urged to reform the bail system statewide, ensuring that defendants would not be held in custody awaiting trial only because of their poverty.
Coalition of reform groups hoped to win ruling that cash bail system discriminated against pre-trial detainees held because they could not make bail, while wealthier defendants walked free before trial. But Cook County Chancery judge concludes the lawsuit was asking for relief that was beyond her authority to grant.
A recent inmate in Cook County jail has brought a class action suit against Sheriff Tom Dart, contending she was illegally held in custody even after she met the requirements set by a judge for release on electronic monitoring. The sheriff’s office contends the complaints about the new review policy are unfounded and “grandstanding.”
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart warned County Board President Toni Preckwinkle that the way bail reforms are being enacted risks a dangerous situation. But Preckwinkle responded that Dart’s own numbers do not support that conclusion.
Frustrated by a U.S. District Judge’s blanket order halting federal efforts to punish cities, counties that do not cooperate on immigration policing, the Trump administration has launched a new effort. Cook County, Chicago are among the jurisdictions that could fact cutbacks in funding for law enforcement.
Illinois court officials are working to fill a key job: The chief state appellate lawyer. The agency is facing a large backlog, and potential budget crisis, a situation where innovative leadership is critical. Yet poor outreach has left the pool of applicants disturbingly tiny.
A visiting Lake County circuit judge on Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order directing Cook County not to cut funding for court employees until a hearing can be held on the chief judge’s lawsuit against the board. The county had contended the cutbacks were necessary after the controversial soda tax was repealed. But the judge ruled that the risk of harm was too great to permit the cutbacks without a further hearing.
Cook County’s Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans filed suit against the Cook County Board Thursday, contending the budget cuts would require laying off 161 court employees and put in jeopardy recent efforts to revamp the county’s bail system.
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.