THE PROBLEM AND OUR SOLUTION
A justice system that is transparent and evidence-based leads to better outcomes for all. We’re striving to force transparency in the City of Chicago and Cook County in order to create safer and better-informed communities.
We empower
Chicagoans to create
safer communities
through government
transparency.
The Problem: The Chicago & Cook County justice system is the 2nd largest in the United States, spanning across both city and county government with budgets totaling in the billions of dollars each year. Tens of thousands of city and county residents come into contact with the system every year. Despite the vital position this system holds in our lives, the ability of stakeholders, policymakers, and communities to understand and validate the practices of our justice agencies is limited by restrictive policies on the access to data these agencies create.
Our Solution: The Chicago Justice Project focuses exclusively on opening big data from across the Chicago & Cook County justice system using our systemic approach to transparency. We believe that connecting data across agency and political boundaries will greatly increase what we can learn about how our justice system operates, and in turn heighten our ability to use the data to educate and empower stakeholders, communities, and policymakers to engage the justice system. We believe a justice system that implements best practices from around the country and evidence-based decision making will serve their communities the best.
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The Latest News


Chicago’s Anti-Violence Efforts Overblown
On today’s pod we take a look at recent reporting by the Better Government Association that focuses on the city’s Anti-violence efforts and the inability of leadership to detail specific steps they have taken to reduce gun violence. This inability to detail their anti-violence efforts hasn’t stopped leadership from claiming


Did Youth Drive Crime Increase in 2020?
As crime & violence increased in many cities in America as the pandemic took hold in 2020 the media coalesced around a narrative that the increase was driven mostly by an increase in youth offending. This narrative about youth offending seemed to fit the circumstances as the pandemic got worse


Discussion with Inspector General Witzburg
Today we feature a discussion with newly appointed Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg. Witzburg previously held a variety of positions within the office including most recently being the Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety. It is in this role she was able to drive the activities of the office and


Chicago Justice Podcast
This is our Chicago Justice Podcast that covers crime, violence, and justice issues in Chicago. We will feature deep dives in to justice system data, interview with researchers and justice system reform advocates, as well as evaluations of justice system practices.