Clerk Martinez’s Transparency Flip Flop
Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Iris Martinez pulled what was always expected and flip flopped here campaign pledge to make her office be responsive to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Instead Martinez backed an Illinois Senate bill to make the office responsive to what is called the local records act. […]
Criminal Justice System is Failing Us
The opaque manner in which our criminal justice agencies operate in Chicago and Cook County is failing community members. It’s imperative that our criminal justice agencies operate in the best interests of public safety above all else, yet both the Koschman case and the case involving the two officers from the 23rd district who sexually […]
Flying Blind in our Criminal Justice System – Its 2009 and We Still Can’t Answer These Questions
The range of issues within the criminal justice system that the public & policy makers know little about is astounding. Innovation in our criminal justice policies and practices will only be driven by greatly increased access to information about how the system operates, who operates it, and with whom the system interacts. Each of the […]
Digitizing the Justice System to Increase Public Access!
With the election of Barack Obama and his verbal commitment to increase public access to governmental data, the time has come to address the dismal level of public access to criminal justice related information in Chicago. The recent temporary assignment of a 14 year old to the rank of Chicago Police patrol officer only highlights […]