Amy Campanelli, Public Defender of Cook County, was the keynote speaker at the recent Governors State University Symposium of Social Justice and Criminal Justice Reform.
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Amy Campenellis is interviewed on Pod Save the People.
Congratulations to Camille Durham, recipient of the IPDA 2018 Bruce Jacobs Award
The Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County has published the results of monitoring of the Model Bond Court Initiative, measuring 7 key performance figures. Among the information reported is the jail population over the period from October 2017- March 2018, the amount of bond set as the result of the new policies, and the court attendance rate for those achieving pretrial release.
Some highlights of the report show:
Public defenders from across the country gathered in Denver last week to talk about best practices for diverting people suffering from mental health issues away from the criminal justice system at a conference hosted by the Equitas Project.
Amy Campanelli participated in the project. Her comments are summarized below:
On February 24, 2018, Rich Central High School Mock Trial Team, coached by Cook County Public Defender Attorney Supervisor Connie Jordan, took 1st place in the Cook County 6th District Circuit Court High School Mock Trial competition.
The Cook County Public Defender's Office received the Clara Shortridge Foltz Award from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and the American Bar Association. The award, bestowed every other year, recognizes a public defender program or defense delivery system for outstanding achievement in the provision of defense services to the poor.
Crystal Brown was awarded the Bruce Robert Jacobs Award by the Illinois Public Defender Association at its October 2017 meeting.
The Cook County’s public defender, whose office represents low-income defendants, warned Monday that she would stop accepting some new criminal cases if a new round of proposed countywide budget cuts go through.
On October 4, 2017, MacArthur Foundation President Julia Stasch announced a grant of $1.85 Million dollars to the Cook County Criminal Justice System to help promote the goal of further reducing the population of the Cook County Jail.