Name-change law used to target women running for judge
Ashonta C. Rice’s name was removed from the Cook County ballot under a 2007 law intended to prevent candidates from using name changes to deceive voters. She’s not the first, and some say the law has been used as a political weapon against female candidates instead.
RECENT REPORTING
Former Chicago Citi VP sentenced to 30 months for swindling $1.5 million from older clients
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly slammed Helen Caldwell for violating her position of trust, and ordered her to report in June to begin serving her sentence. Her case was featured last year in the Injustice Watch series Exploited Elders.
Democratic Party’s slate sweeps countywide judicial races
In a primary with historically low turnout, the most controversial candidates in subcircuits lost out to those with stronger reviews from fellow lawyers.
In a hyper-local judicial race, questions about what counts as community representation
Judicial subcircuits were created to increase community representation. 30 years later, it is still unclear what representation means.
Featured Project
Illinois’ system for protecting older adults from financial exploitation leaves them more vulnerable to harm and isolation, a four-month Injustice Watch investigation found. Victims often end up as wards of the Cook County Public Guardian, whose office takes control of their finances and care in probate court.
More Projects
Judicial Elections
Injustice Watch provides comprehensive, nonpartisan voter guides for Cook County judicial elections.
U Visa Denials
The Chicago Police Department denied hundreds of immigrant crime victims a path to citizenship through the U visa program.
The Long Wait
An investigation into the slow and opaque parole process for a small group of people incarcerated for crimes from the 1970s.
Surveilling Sobriety
Hundreds of Cook County probationers have been required to wear an electronic alcohol-monitoring bracelet in recent years.
Examining issues of equity and justice in the court system
Our in-depth investigative reporting holds power to account.
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Editor’s Pick
The Joe Coleman Medical Release Act was expected to have freed hundreds of terminally ill and medically incapacitated prisoners in Illinois by now. But only a few dozen have been released, an investigation from Injustice Watch and WBEZ reveals.