A federal watchdog is saying the Cook County Circuit Clerk's Office still needs oversight of its hiring and promotion practices to root out undue political influence, but recognizes that an appellate ruling, instigated by Gov. JB Pritzker, will likely end supervision.
The motions to lift the so-called Shakman Decrees are supported by reform advocates who had filed suit to impose the court ordered monitoring decades ago
The time has come for the general public to easily access information about court cases online, so judges can be adequately evaluated by voters and held accountable for their actions, says Matt Rosenberg, of Wirepoints.
The Illinois Supreme Court struck down a system that charged $50 filing fees on all mortgage foreclosure lawsuits, and then steered the money to 'housing counseling' agencies and city and county governments, ostensibly to reduce foreclosures and blight.
A coalition of groups seeking reforms in Cook County's court system say new Circuit Clerk Iris Martinez hasn't moved quickly enough to implement changes to increase transparency in her office and online access to public court documents.
A report from the Civic Federation, Chicago Appleseed and Chicago Council of Lawyers calls for the new Cook County Circuit Clerk to institute reforms and technology upgrades to make the county's courts more efficient and publicly accessible.
A federal appeals court ruled the Teamsters Local 700 union employed the wrong legal strategy to stop a federal hiring monitor from observing grievance hearings at the Cook County Circuit Clerk's office.
Cook County worker was sentenced to 2-year prison term for lying to grand jury, allegedly to shield Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown from federal investigation.
The hearing board said it doesn't matter she's used her maiden name when practicing law or running for other offices. The objector has sought judicial review of that decision.
A new class action lawsuit has accused the Cook County Circuit Clerk’s office of charging illegal fees to people filing petitions in Cook County court to enforce child support orders.
A federal judge said the Cook County Circuit Clerk can be forced to subject union grievance proceedings and other collective bargaining issues to federal oversight, to make sure politics is not improperly guiding employee disciplinary decisions.
The owner of a Pennsylvania debt collection company, which for years has chased down those who owe money to Cook County, has been indicted on federal charges of allegedly bribing court clerks, including Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, to land such contracts.
A state appeals court has again ruled Cook County Circuit Court Dorothy Brown is requesting unauthorized filing fees from parties involved in lawsuits.
A judge has sealed off municipal lawyer Michael Del Galdo's divorce case from public view, as Del Galdo seeks to keep his financials under wraps. But billing and payment records obtained under FOIA shows Del Galdo's law firm has continued to collect likely millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded money in recent years from the Cook County suburban governments he and his firm represent.
A federal appeals panel has tossed out a Chicago federal judge’s order requiring Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown to provide immediate public access to all civil lawsuits filed in the county, saying the judge was wrong to intervene in the matter both because the state courts had not been given the chance to weight in and because the appellate judges doubted delaying access to filed lawsuits violated anyone’s constitutional rights.
A Cook County woman has initiated a federal class action against Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown concerning what information can be disclosed on public records.
Mandatory court e-filing for all civil cases is operational in all but three Illinois counties, according to a representative of the company charged with introducing the system.
Saying Cook County’s courts clerk shouldn’t be allowed to use court administrative rules to sidestep the public's constitutional rights, the news organization accusing the clerk of delaying access by days to new lawsuits has asked a federal appeals court to reject the clerk’s assertions she has no obligation under the Constitution to provide swift public access to newly filed court documents.
The clerk of Cook County’s courts has asserted she has no obligation under the First Amendment to provide the press or public with immediate access to lawsuits publicly filed in court, making the claim as part of her bid to persuade a federal appeals panel to undo a federal judge’s injunction ordering her to create a system to provide swifter access to all electronically filed documents.
