A PATH TO EFFECTIVE
PUBLIC DEFENSE
IN ILLINOIS
The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right to counsel in criminal proceedings.
It is a state’s obligation to ensure that every person accused of a crime who cannot afford an attorney is provided with effective assistance of counsel.
FOR DECADES, ILLINOIS HAS FAILED TO MEET ITS CONSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATION.
The Funded Advocacy and Independent Representation (FAIR) Act is the first step towards creating a constitutional statewide public defense system to address decades of injustice.
The FAIR Act will provide oversight, expand resources, and establish standards to ensure that every indigent person accused of a crime is zealously represented by their public defender.
ILLINOIS’ PUBLIC DEFENSE CRISIS
The Illinois Supreme Court commissioned the Sixth Amendment Center to evaluate Illinois’ approach to public defense.
In its June 2021 report, the Sixth Amendment Center concluded that Illinois fails to meet its constitutional obligations - highlighting overwhelming caseloads, insufficient funding and resources, and lack of statewide oversight and independence.
THE FAILURES PERSIST.
NOT ONE OF ILLINOIS’ 102 COUNTIES PROVIDES ADEQUATE PUBLIC DEFENSE STAFFING.
No county provides the number of lawyers, mental health professionals, investigators, and support staff to meet the minimum required national workload and staffing standards.
Illinois lacks an oversight structure to assess whether counties have enough public defenders, investigators, and support staff with the appropriate training and resources to provide effective assistance counsel to every indigent person accused of a crime.
Illinois’ existing public defense delivery system is fragmented across 102 counties in which local judges and elected officials control funding. This means that the provision of public defense - and the right to counsel - is in the hands of elected officials.
Consequently, Illinoisans who cannot afford an attorney suffer from access to a fair trial that is jeopardized by local county politics and economics.
The FAIR Act will increase equity, independence, and resources to Illinois’ public defenders, helping Illinois to meet its duty to residents.
It will create a statewide structure and oversight by establishing an Office of the State Public Defender and the State Public Defender Commission.
The Office and Commission will work together to develop professional standards, workload guidelines, enhanced training and coordinated recruitment.
TAKE ACTION!
Join over 60 organizations and endorse the FAIR Act now!
33rd Ward Working Families
Access Living
A Just Harvest
AIDS Foundation Chicago
Ascend Justice
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Chicago
Better Government Association
BlackRoots Alliance
Cabrini Green Legal Aid
Cannabis Equity IL Coalition
Champaign County Bailout Coalition
Change Peoria
Chicago Appleseed
Center for Fair Courts
Chicago Community Bond Fund
Chicago Council of Lawyers
Chicago Urban League
Chicago United for Equity
Chicago United Solidarity Project (CUSP)
Children’s Best Interest Project
Color of Change
Faith Coalition for the Common Good
Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project (FLAP)
First Unitarian Church of Chicago
Greater West Town Community Development Project
Health & Medicine Policy Research Group
Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Illinois Collaboration on Youth
Illinois Harm Reduction & Recovery Coalition
Illinois National Organization for Women (NOW)
Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice
Illinois Prison Project
Illinois Prisoner Rights Coalition
Illinois Social Justice Alliance
Interfaith Criminal Justice Task Force
Lawndale Christian Legal Center
League of Women Voters of Illinois
Liberation Library
Live Free Illinois
Metro East Organization
NAMI Illinois
National Lawyers Guild - Chicago
Nikkei Uprising
Phalanx Family Services
Prison Policy Initiative
To Defend If Necessary, LLC
The Center for Empowerment and Justice
The People’s Lobby
The Porchlight Collective SAP
Restore Justice
Rockford Urban Ministries
The Resurrection Project
She Votes Illinois
Shriver Center on Poverty Law
Smart Decarceration Project, University of Chicago
Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL)
TASC (Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities)
Trinity United Church of Christ Chicago
Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois
Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois
Youth Empowerment Performance Project (YEPP)
YWCA Champaign County
YWCA McLean County