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.