The dispute over the future of the gang database represents the first clash between the Police Department’s leaders and the commission made up of Chicagoans given the authority to set policy for the department in an attempt to restore trust in its operations.

The changes approved last week by Democratic members of the General Assembly is the fourth follow-up bill to the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act, or SAFE-T Act.

One of Republicans’ major concerns has been that the legal standards were too narrow for determining when a defendant could be kept in jail as they await trial. A Democratic proposal addresses that by expanding the list of crimes for which someone can be denied pretrial release.

The interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability will hold a virtual meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday to discuss a draft of the policy that would govern the new gang database, dubbed the Criminal Enterprise Information System.

It’s been two years since Illinois Democrats passed the major criminal justice law known as the SAFE-T Act, but it’s getting a lot of attention now as the bail overhaul approaches.

Kelly’s attorneys on Tuesday filed the routine post-conviction motions asking a judge to either toss out the singer’s six convictions or grant him another trial, arguing prosecutors failed to prove their case and allowed a witness to provide false testimony.

A lawyer is using what she learned in that role to create art that helps people better understand the reality of Cook County’s criminal justice system.

The Chicago City Council is set to pay $5.8 million to resolve three lawsuits alledging misconduct by Chicago Police officers.

When people are incarcerated in Illinois prisons, they cannot vote until they are released and re-registered to vote.

Changes are coming to the SAFE-T Act, the new law that, among many other things, does away with cash bail starting in the new year. It's become a political flashpoint in the race for governor and took center stage at the last debate.

Reuben Jonathan Miller, a sociologist, criminologist and social worker, whose work studies the long-term impacts of incarceration on individuals and their families, was awarded a MacArthur fellowship. 

Derrel McDavid on Monday filed an 18-page motion through his attorneys seeking a court order that would grant him the fees following what his attorneys called a “vexatious, frivolous, and bad faith” prosecution.

Three Chicago art galleries and programs are partnering for a three-part exhibition series as they work to explore the impact incarceration has on young people.

One of the legal system’s goals should be finding ways to reintegrate people back into society after they have completed their sentences, says Patrick O’Brien. 

Though there are about 1,300 permanent punishments on the books in Illinois — and countless more that aren’t — there are only a handful of ways to get around them. They often involve a complicated mix of paperwork and expenses. The records sealing or expungement process, for example, involves filing a petition in court, costing around $157 per charge. 

President Joe Biden is pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana under federal law, as his administration takes a dramatic step toward decriminalizing the drug and addressing charging practices that disproportionately impact people of color.