In Chicago, thousands of drug possession arrests are tossed out every year because of an unwritten rule in the courts, a Better Government Association/Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found. The cost to taxpayers? Millions. To those arrested? Jobs, housing, freedom.
Criminal Justice & Public Safety
Posted inInvestigating Responses
Oregon Is First State to Ticket Narcotics Users, but New Reform Has Yet To Live Up To Promise
In Illinois, possession of even trace amounts of heroin residue is a felony. But in Oregon, it’s not a crime at all any more. Instead, people caught with drugs get a ticket. Oregon’s new drug reform is keeping users out of jail — but the goal of getting them help for their addictions has been elusive.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Kim Foxx’s Ex-Trainer Caught Up in ‘Unending Cycle’ of Drug Arrests
Drug issue hits every corner of Cook County. ‘It breaks my heart,’ the state’s attorney says.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Dead-End Drug Arrests: How We Reported This Story
The BGA and Chicago Sun-Times analyzed 280,000 total drug possession arrests made in Cook County over nearly two decades. The data used was provided by The Circuit, the collaborative journalistic enterprise led by the BGA and Injustice Watch.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Fewer People in Cook County Are Being Charged With Crimes. Why Are Black People Making Up a Larger Share of Defendants?
An Injustice Watch/BGA investigation broke down the data on specific charges and asked experts to explain why racial disparities are increasing in Cook County criminal court.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Few Programs Steer Child Carjackers Away From Trouble
Children as young as 13 have been caught hijacking cars in Chicago. Experts say first-time arrestees can’t get the intervention they need.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
A Veteran Cook County Judge Has Been Repeatedly Blocked from Hearing Sex Offense Cases. Here’s Why.
An unprecedented investigation of court data finds systematic effort to keep Judge James Linn from deciding sex charges after a controversial ruling he made years ago.
Posted inInvestigations
Un Juez Veterano del Condado de Cook ha Sido Bloqueado Repetidamente para Que No Trate Casos de Delitos Sexuales. Esta es la Razón.
Una investigación sin precedentes de los datos judiciales comprueba un esfuerzo sistemático para evitar que el juez James Linn decida sobre casos de sexo después de un controvertido fallo que dictó hace años.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
About The Circuit
The Circuit is an unparalleled collaborative journalism investigation that explores and exposes decades of overlooked data and their connecting patterns buried in the files of the Cook County Courts.
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Meet the Cook County Judge Defense Attorneys Least Want to Appear Before
Judge Diane Gordon Cannon criticized for verbal outbursts, a pro-prosecution bent and jailing of probationers for sometimes-minor infractions.
