Reverend Al Sharpton rebuked newly sworn-in President Donald Trump for his campaign promise to pardon more than 1,500 people who had been convicted of crimes, including attacking law enforcement officers, during a riot at the U.S. capitol four years ago. "How are you, Mr. Trump, on the
Illinois motorists and their passengers could be subject to search and prosecution for possession of cannabis if law enforcement officers say they detect the smell of raw cannabis during a police stop. That's what Illinois Supreme Court ruled in a December 5 opinion. The case came to the
During her eight years as top prosecutor, Kim Foxx's office vacated 248 convictions, according to a final report released on Nov. 30, Foxx's final day as Cook County State's attorney. "When I first took this seat in 2016, Chicago was widely known as
In a letter published in the TRiiBE, Frank Chapman, community organizer, executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and education director an field organizer of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression says Chicago must build upon the legacy of former Cook County State'
At a "Keeping Up With Kim" event in July 2023 top prosecutor Kim Foxx walked the line between ensuring that her office would pursue justice for victims of crime while also establishing policies aimed at undoing longstanding unfairness in Cook County's criminal justice system, Illinois and
The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday reversed the conviction of Jussie Smollett agreeing that the Cook County State's Attorney's office unlawfully reneged on a deal to drop charges filed against the former Empire actor in 2019, instead re-prosecuting him on felony disorderly conduct charges. "We
With prosecutors from the four most populous counties by his side, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Tuesday announced the establishment of a conviction integrity unit in his office – the first statewide effort to acknowledge there are people in the more than two dozen Illinois prisons convicted of crimes that
Community activists working on criminal justice issues were ambivalent about their choices for the next occupant of the White House and doubtful either of the candidates in the presidential race would have an impact on local concerns. "I think he who will go without a name clearly shows America
Judge Carol Howard grew up on Chicago's West Side into a family of six children and became the first lawyer in her family's history. In a survey about her work, Howard credits the listening skills she learned from her parents as an asset she employs every
An appellate court panel on Friday reversed a circuit court judge’s ruling to uphold the 21-year-old criminal convictions of Kevin Jackson.
After 39 hours of interrogation, Clayborn Smith in 1992 signed a statement confessing to the murders of his grandfather and great aunt. At the trial two years later, he filed a motion to suppress his confession. But the presiding judge didn't believe Smith's allegations that police
Throughout his legal career, George N. Leighton fought for justice. Does the courthouse named in his honor reflect his legacy?
Moms of adult children often lament that their sons and daughters don't call home frequently enough. But that's not the issue for Denise Spencer, who says there have been times when her son has called her as many as ten times a day. Spencer's
The Illinois Supreme Court voted to uphold the conviction of a man on an unlawful possession of a weapon charge, a misdemeanor that carried a 30-day jail term, even though state prosecutors pursued the case without independently verifying that the defendant violated state law. While all seven justices voted to
A group of mothers who say their sons have been kidnapped by the Illinois Department of Corrections are asking outgoing Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx to use a UN report as a catalyst to release from prison more people who say that police tortured them into confessing
High court justices reverse lower court sanction on prosecutor for allowing misleading testimony in grand jury hearing After two lower courts dismissed his case with prejudice, the Illinois Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision voted to continue prosecuting a man who says the State manipulated a grand jury to secure
Two decades ago, the Crawfords lost a member of their family to the carceral system. On a February night in 2004, Oliver Crawford Jr. was in Streamwood, Illinois spending the night at the home of his cousin Shirley, according to court documents. Later that morning he would get ready to
After more than two decades behind bars, Kevin Jackson is going home. "Having now had the opportunity to review the briefs and hold oral argument in this case we are now of the opinion that Mr. Jackson meets the criteria for release," the panel wrote in an expedited
"Free them all. Free them now!" That was the cry heard in front of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office Sept. 30 at a rally to ask outgoing top prosecutor Kim Foxx to "leave the office with a bang" by vacating the
In 2012 then CBS News 60 Minutes correspondent Byron Pitts came to Chicago to explore the peculiar distinction of Chicago as the capital of false confessions. In that report he interviewed seven men, known now as the Englewood Four and the Dixmoor Five who as teens were convicted of rape
All persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials. So reads the first line of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, making it among the most progressive laws in the country
After a circuit court judge vacated the conviction of man who has spent the last 11 years behind bars based upon advice that the state's attorney's office would dismiss the case, the Fraternal Order of Police said that it would push for him to be reindicted
Training a solutions journalism lens on wrongful convictions in Illinois Today I pressed the publish button on the first edition of the Cook County Courtroom Observer, a newsletter that aims to train a solutions journalism lens on the problem of wrongful convictions in Illinois. It’s a project that I’
Supporters for Kevin Jackson quietly left the courtroom after listening to a three-judge appellate panel question oral arguments Tuesday over whether or not to free Kevin Jackson, who has spent more than half of his life in prison for a crime he and one of the victims says he didn&