A Minneapolis police officer was swiftly fired and charged with murder after bystander video showed him pressing his knee into George Floyd’s neck, ignoring the Black man’s cries that he couldn’t breathe. But even with that powerful footage, legal experts say the case isn’t a slam dunk.

Many in the community consider George Floyd Square, the place where former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes, to be a sacred space, but it also has presented some headaches for the city.

According to a federal complaint, James Massey posted multiple videos and messages on Facebook calling for people to gather in downtown Chicago and engage in property damage and looting last summer.

Robert Smith spent decades in prison on a wrongful murder conviction. Now, he’s suing the city and several Chicago Police Department detectives who worked under notorious Area 2 Commander Jon Burge, claiming they beat a false confession out of him.

Gov. J. B. Pritzker signed a criminal justice bill Monday that is massive both in its size – 764 pages – and scope. We discuss the the coming changes and what concerns the bill raises for opponents.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans announced target dates to resume in-person jury trials on March 22 at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse at 26th Street and on March 29 at the Bridgeview Courthouse.

The massive, 764-page criminal justice reform bill will eliminate cash bail, require law enforcement officers to wear body cameras and create a certification program for police. “This legislation marks a substantial step towards dismantling the systemic racism that plagues our communities,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. 

An Army special forces sergeant pleaded not guilty Friday to murder and other charges in the killing of three people and wounding of three others during a mass shooting at an Illinois bowling alley.

A man arrested at least three times for impersonating a Chicago police officer, including once at age 14, appeared in court Friday on charges that he did the same crime three times this year, including once when he allegedly pulled over a vehicle and searched its occupants.

Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder also rejected prosecutors’ request for a $200,000 bail increase for Kyle Rittenhouse, who came to Kenosha in August as hundreds were protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man.

Anthony Blackburn, 18, was ordered held without bail Wednesday during his initial appearance on charges of vehicular hijacking, attempted vehicular hijacking and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

A Wisconsin judge will hold a hearing next week on whether to arrest or increase bail for an Illinois teen accused of opening fire during a police brutality protest in Wisconsin last summer after he allegedly failed to update his address with the court.

Prosecutors asked a judge Wednesday for a new arrest warrant for an Illinois teen charged with shooting three people, killing two of them, during a protest over police brutality in Wisconsin after he apparently violated his bail conditions.

In Illinois there are more than 1,400 laws regulating the lives of people who are formerly incarcerated. A new book by Reuben Jonathan Miller examines these laws and how they affect the lives of people with felonies once they are out of prison.

Illinois is poised to become one of the first states to eliminate cash bail after the state legislature passed a sweeping criminal justice reform bill earlier this month. Now proponents who pushed for that change hope the measure can be used to reform pretrial services elsewhere.

The judge handling Jussie Smollett’s case wants to keep a potential trial focused on the events that occurred the night the former “Empire” star allegedly filed a false police report, rather than the controversy surrounding his initial charges and their subsequent dismissal.