Illinois Police Reform & Next Steps
The Illinois Legislature passed a Police Reform Bill (HB 3653) through their lame duck session. The bill is currently awaiting Governor Pritzker’s signature. He is expected to sign it. This legislation was spear-headed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. It passed the General Assembly 60-50, and the State Senate 32-23. (view full article)
Every year, more than 250,000 people are incarcerated BEFORE TRIAL in Illinois. Most are locked up simply because they cannot afford to post bail to secure their freedom. It’s as if our legal system is holding them for ransom. (view full article)
The consequences of this decision–to Adult or Not to Adult–is no trivial matter. Possible sentencing if convicted varies drastically between the two. On the one hand, if convicted as a juvenile, Zaveon Marks could be sentenced to an indeterminate amount of time in detention with the focus on rehabilitation but would be released from Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) when he ages out of the juvenile system at 21. On the other hand, conviction as an adult could leave Zaveon in prison practically for the rest of his life. Zaveon would be imprisoned at JDC until he turns 21, then transferred to an adult prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. (View More)
Due Process & It’s Limits: A R.Kelly Story
The article isn’t about completely delegitimizing due process. Due process is a worthy thing to fight for, especially as our rights are increasingly infringed upon by an increasingly large state apparatus. But R. Kelly’s history of abusive behavior towards young black girls shouldn’t be ignored just because his previous court case found him not guilty. Despite its ability to create truths, a court room is far from perfect and far from the final say on what is true or false. Any argument placing his accuser’s facts in a state of epistemological limbo until they’ve been tested in court fails to recognize the obvious limitations of the judicial system. (view more)
