Cook County

Cook County Bond Court Overlooks Critical Information

Katy Welter | Posted 04.03.2012

Read More: Bail, Pre-Trial Release, Cook County Bond Court Reform, Cook County, Jail, Chicago, Toni Preckwinkle, Trial, Defendent Rights, Chicago News
Katy Welter

In less than the time it takes to make an ATM withdrawal, Cook County Bond Court judges make decisions affecting individual liberty and the public safety. This way of transacting justice exacts a dear convenience fee.

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Preckwinkle's Plan To Shrink The Jail Population

Chicago Reader | Posted by Moises Moy Moreno | Posted 02.22.2012

Read More: Cook County Jail, Cook County, Toni Preckwinkle, Chicago News

Toni Preckwinkle wants to get people out of Cook County jail. She also wants to keep them from going there in the first place. And in the cases whe...

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The Next Blagojevich...

Rev. Gregory Seal Livingston | Posted 02.15.2012

Read More: Corruption, Mississippi, Voter Disenfranchisement, Rod Blagojevich, Chicago, Cook County Board President, Cook County, Phil Bryant, Voter Apathy, Gubernatorial Elections, Governor, Johnny DuPree, Chicago News
Rev. Gregory Seal Livingston

Why does corruption seem to thrive in our wonderful state (and my native Chicago!), and what can citizens do to stop it?

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Smart Criminal Justice Policies Gain Momentum in Chicago, Cook County

Katy Welter | Posted 01.03.2012

Read More: Marijuana Decriminalization, Electronic Monitoring, Cook County Criminal Justice System, Toni Preckwinkle, Chicago Marijuana Decriminalization, Chicago Criminal Justice, Cook County, Chicago Electronic Monitoring, Cook County Criminal Justice, Chicago News
Katy Welter

More than funding or legislation, we need our officials to work toward common goals. A fair, cost-effective criminal justice system can be achieved through a cooperative effort among city and county administrators.

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Elise Foley

DHS Documents: Local Police Not Required To Hold Undocumented Immigrants For U.S. Government

HuffingtonPost.com | Elise Foley | Posted 12.31.2011

Read More: Department of Homeland Security, Video, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Chicago, Secure Communities, Immigration Enforcement, Immigration, Santa Clara, Dhs, Ice, Cook County, San Francisco, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Local law enforcement agencies are not required to hold undocumented immigrants at the request of the federal government, according to i...

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Cook County Budget Outlines More Than 1,000 Layoffs; Tax, Fee Increases

Posted 12.24.2011

Read More: Toni Preckwinkle Budget, Illinois Unemployment, Cook County Taxes, Toni Preckwinkle County Budget, Cook County Politics, Toni Preckwinkle, Illinois Taxes, Illinois Layoffs, Illinois Jobs, Cook County, Cook County Layoffs, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's second budget, slated to be officially unveiled Tuesday, is expected to include layoffs of just more th...

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Finding the "Fat Catchers" of Criminal Justice

Katy Welter | Posted 12.09.2011

Read More: Criminal Justice, Diversion-Division, Cook County, Cook County Criminal Justice System, University of Chicago Crime Lab, Drug Policy Reform, Chicago News
Katy Welter

Innovative criminal justice reforms may produce misleading results if they are not implemented using systematic research methods.

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Cook County Defies White House Immigration Policy

AP | By DON BABWIN | Posted 12.05.2011

Read More: Cook County Immigration, Undocumented Immigrants, Toni Preckwinkle Immigration, Obama Immigration, Cook County Immigration Detainers, Cook County, Deportation, Cook County Jail, Obama Deportations, Chicago News

CHICAGO -- The release of more than 40 suspected illegal immigrants jailed in Cook County on felonies has added fuel to a contentious debate over publ...

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Good Government Through the Looking Glass: Transparency and Accountability

Toni Preckwinkle | Posted 11.30.2011

Read More: Transparency, Government Transparency, Open Data, Cook County, Cook County Board, Chicago News
Toni Preckwinkle

Last week was the launch of Cook County's new Open Data website. The website makes an unprecedented amount of County information available to the public, all available with just a few clicks of a mouse.

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Cook County Is Opening Its File Cabinets; Are You Looking Inside?

Kyle Hillman | Posted 11.30.2011

Read More: Politics, Open Data, Cook County, Cook, Open Government, Cook County Board, Toni Preckwinkle, Chicago News
Kyle Hillman

The much-anticipated Cook County redesigned open data website was launched last week -- let the floodgate of citizen activism begin.

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Cook County Board President: Seniors Should Double Check Tax Bills

NBC Chicago | Posted 11.27.2011

Read More: Cook County, Toni Preckwinke, Illinois Taxes, Joe Berrios, Seniors Tax Bill Illinois, Chicago News

Chicago seniors have been getting the short end of the stick by Springfield, lately. They had their free rides on buses cut. Budget cuts will limit...

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Corrections Officer Charged In 1997 Rape Of 10-Year-Old Girl

Posted 11.22.2011

Read More: 10-Year-Old Raped, Rape Kits, Harvey Police Department, Untested Rape Kits, Cook County State's Attorney, Robert Buchanan, Raid, Cook County, Correctional Officer, Sexual Assault, Dna Evidence, Anita Alvarez, Correctional Officer Charged in Rape, Video, Chicago News

A Cook County sheriff's correctional officer has been charged with sexual assault of his 10-year-old step daughter based on DNA results from a rape ki...

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Cook County Property Owners May Now Appeal Assessments Online

Posted 11.07.2011

Read More: Cook County Homes, Property Owners, Chicago Property Taxes, Cook County Property Assessments, Appealing Property Assessments Cook County, Cook County Board of Review, Homeowners, Property Taxes, Cook County Assessor, Joe Berrios, Cook County, Chicago Homes, Chicago Homeowners, Appealing Property Assessments, Chicago News

Chicago homeowners looking to challenge their property's assessed value can now save a trip downtown by filing their appeals online, via a new system ...

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Cook County Seeking Former Homeowners: Please Come Claim Foreclosure Cash

Posted 10.26.2011

Read More: Video, Housing Market, Oseph Berrios, Cook County Clerk, Dorothy Brown, Assessor, Foreclosure, Joe Berrios, Real Estate, Cook County, Reimbursement, Chicago News

Two years after Cook County launched a search engine to help people with foreclosed homes or businesses claim the profits earned in their property sal...

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Expunging Criminal Records Just Got Easier In Cook County

The Chicago Reporter | Posted 10.26.2011

Read More: Cook County, Cook County Expunging Records, Illinois Legal Aid, Criminal Records, Chicago News

In the United States, one in every four people has a criminal record. Those records can be haunting. If you have something in your past that you're...

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Good Government Through the Looking Glass: The Budget Process

Toni Preckwinkle | Posted 10.15.2011

Read More: Transparency, Government Transparency, Cook County Budget Shortfall, Chicago Budget Shortfall, Cook County, Preliminary Budget Estimates, Budget, Chicago News
Toni Preckwinkle

Requiring preliminary budget estimates is the first step in implementing a more transparent and accountable budget process. This allows us to better engage our stakeholders, including County residents, in the budget process.

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Is Pot Prosecution A Waste Of Time And Resources In Cook County?

Chicago Reader | Posted by Sparky Malone | Posted 10.12.2011

Read More: Cook County, Marijuana Prosecution, Cpd, Pot Prosecution, Marijuana, Chicago News

It was July 26 in the Cook County misdemeanor court at Harrison and Kedzie, but it could have been any day. The docket's always heavy with marijuana c...

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Matt Sledge

Chicago, More Mexicans Than Veracruz

HuffingtonPost.com | Matt Sledge | Posted 10.10.2011

Read More: 2010 Census, Census, Latino-Politics, Juan Rangel, Redistricting, Mexican-Americans, Gerrymandering, United Neighborhood Organization, Chicago Suburbs, Rahm Emanuel, Cook County Politics, Chicago, Chicago Latinos, Danny Solis, Cook County, Latino Voices News

CHICAGO -- The City of Chicago has more Mexicans than Veracruz and more Puerto Ricans than Arecibo. But despite these huge urban numbers, Latinos in t...

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Can YOU Fix Cook County's Deficit?

The Huffington Post | Lizzie Schiffman | Posted 10.09.2011

Read More: Cook Budget Shortfall, Toni Preckwinkle County Board, County Deficit, Cook Budget Deficit, Toni Preckwinkle, Crowdsourcing, Budget Shortfall, County Budget, Budget Deficit, Cook County, Cook County Budget Deficit, Toni Preckwinkle County Board President, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

How would you fix Cook County’s $315 million budget shortfall? An interactive “Budget” section launched Tuesday on the Cook County government we...

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Illegal Cash-Back Deals Worsened The Housing Bubble: Report

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 09.14.2011

Read More: Housing Market, Home Sales, Chicago, Cash Back at Closing, Cash Back, Illinois, Foreclosure, Inflated Home Prices, Real Estate, Cook County, Housing Sales, Illegal Deals, Housing Bubble, Business News

It’s a tactic that’s been in use for years: Sell a house to someone at an inflated price, but offer the buyer an incentive to take it -- like a fe...

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WATCH: Preckwinkle Pulls Plug On Pricey, Glitchy 'Project Shield'

Posted 09.01.2011

Read More: Michael Masters, Project Shield, Video, Todd Stroger, u.s. Department of Homeland Security, Chicago Cops, Chicago, Toni Preckwinkle, John Stroger, Fbi, Chicago Police Department, Cook County, Johnson Controls, Surveillance Cameras, Mismanagement, Chicago News

The program has cost at least $44 million in federal funding and was, as of this February, under investigation by the FBI, but now the controversial "...

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'Staggering': Cook County Households' Share Of Local Debt

Posted 08.22.2011

Read More: Maria Pappas, Cook County Debt, Chicago Debt, Cook County Treasurer, Chicago, Illinois, Cook County, Municipal Debt, Chicago News

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas was astonished by the amount of local government debt that Chicago-area households hold, according to a report rele...

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Is Illinois Abortion Notification Law Constitutional? Court To Decide

Posted 08.17.2011

Read More: Abortion, Women's Rights, Abortion Laws, Women's Health, Reproductive Rights, Chicago, Illinois Abortion Notification Law, Illinois, Cook County, Pro-Lifers, Illinois Abortion Laws, Chicago News

Though the Illinois law requiring a teenage girl's parents be notified before she has an abortion passed in 1995, it has thus far gone completely unen...

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Oops: Cook County Bookkeeping Error Double-Counted $90 Million

AP | Posted 08.11.2011

Read More: Cook County Bookkeeping Mistake, Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County $90 Million, Cook County Bookkeeping, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

CHICAGO — Officials in Cook County, Ill., where Chicago is located say a bookkeeping blunder that resulted in double-counting $90 million in rev...

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A Sexist Motion? Lawyer Claims Paralegal Has Distracting Breasts

Posted 07.25.2011

Read More: Cook County Court, Large Breats, Sexist, Sexism, Thomas Gooch, Exotic Motors, Cleavage, Weird Sex, Dmitry N. Feofanov, Weird Law, Cook County, Chicago News

A Chicago lawyer is being accused of sexism after requesting that a "large breasted woman" seated at the opposing counsel's table be moved as to not d...

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