News Tag: Courts
March 22, 2022
Illinois Supreme Court Creates Remote Proceedings Task Force
The Illinois Supreme Court last week announced a new Remote Proceedings Task Force as part of the Illinois Judicial Conference. As Chief Justice Anne M. Burke noted in the Court’s announcement, “Remote proceedings are not the wave of the future, they are our present… Illinois Courts have a long history of increasing access to justice and responding […]
Tags: Courts read more ...January 26, 2022
Congrats and thanks Judge Jacobius!
January brings the bittersweet news that Judge Moshe Jacobius, the longtime Presiding Judge for the Chancery Division in the Circuit Court of Cook County, is retiring at the end of the month.
Judge Jacobius has been a great leader and partner on access to justice issues throughout his more than 11 years as Presiding Judge in […]
Tags: Courts read more ...December 17, 2021
Your Foundation at Work in 2021
Building a Fairer and Better Justice System, Together
You continue to make a tremendous impact through your partnership with the CBF by coming together with your peers throughout our legal community to strengthen the pro bono and legal aid system and develop innovative new solutions to advance access to justice. Following are just a few examples […]
Tags: Advocacy | Courts | Grants | Legal Innovation read more ...November 23, 2021
New Report Shows Strong Public Support for Remote Court Hearings
A new report from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) finds strong public support for courts to continue conducting hearings remotely. Many survey participants expressed support for remote access because it makes it easier for them to participate in court matters by eliminating barriers to making it to the courthouse itself. Specifically, large numbers […]
Tags: Courts | Remote Access read more ...September 13, 2021
Welcome to the Newest Illinois JusticeCorps Fellows Cohort
Over ten years ago, the CBF pioneered Illinois JusticeCorps, an innovative program through which courthouse volunteers create a more welcoming and less intimidating environment for people without lawyers. Illinois JusticeCorps volunteers are college students and recent graduates who do this by effectively serving as docents for the court. They provide navigational assistance, referrals to legal […]
Tags: Courts | JusticeCorps read more ...August 2, 2021
Help Available for Both Landlords and Tenants as Eviction Moratoriums Expire
From left to right: Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, CBF Executive Director Bob Glaves, and Carina Segalini from the office of Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans.
As state and federal moratoriums on evictions are expiring, the free services offered through the Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt (CCLAHD) […]
Tags: Advocacy | Courts | Legal Aid read more ...June 15, 2021
A Roadmap to a More Efficient and Accessible New Normal for the Courts
The CBF/Circuit Court Pro Se Advisory Committee recently submitted detailed recommendations to facilitate the permanent use of remote court appearances to improve efficiency and access in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Remote access has proven to be a game changer for improving access to justice during the pandemic, a point underscored by Illinois Supreme Court […]
Tags: Courts | Legal Innovation | Pro Se Advisory Committee read more ...May 15, 2021
Congrats Samira!
Congratulations to Samira Nazem, CBF Associate Director of Advocacy & Programs, on being selected as the Award Recipient for the “Excellence in Community and Public Services Award” by the Clerk’s Office Asian/Pacific American Heritage Committee as part of the Clerk’s Office’s 2021 Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration.
Samira works closely with the Circuit Court and the Clerk’s […]
Tags: Courts | Staff read more ...March 25, 2021
Just Because We Can Doesn’t Mean We Should, and Just Because We Should Can Never Again Mean We Can’t—Part Two
Doing a sequel is a fraught exercise. For every classic movie like the “The Godfather” or “Die Hard” that nailed it a second time, there are many more examples like “Caddyshack” and “Airplane” where an ill-advised sequel did no justice to the original masterpiece.
With knowledge of that risk, it feels particularly timely to do a follow-up to my post last May, one of the more popular ones in Bobservations history (a low bar, yes). It has only become clearer over the past ten months how critical it will be for remote access to remain a central feature of the court system for the long haul. At the same time, however, we have also learned some things during that time that will be key to making a hybrid system work effectively.
Tags: Courts | Future of the Profession | Legal Innovation read more ...March 15, 2021
New Supreme Court Rule Expands the Use of Electronic Signatures
When the pandemic arrived last March, we quickly learned how much could be done remotely – remote court, remote school, remote happy hour. However, the pandemic also shined a light on some of the outdated court rules and procedures that prevented basic tasks from working well remotely.
One stark example was the limits on the use of electronic signatures on court documents. In the best of times, this would be an inefficient roadblock to access to the courts, but during the pandemic, it often forced people to put their own health and the health of others at risk or be effectively shut out of the system even in matters that could be critical to their safety and independence.
Tags: Courts | Future of the Profession | Pro Se Advisory Committee read more ...