The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "the Cook County Public Defender" ...
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Defending the Damned
"Defending the Damned takes a in inside look at a group of public defenders who normally operate in the shadows of the criminal justice system. The book examines the Murder Task Force of the Cook County Public Defender's Office, a unit that handles only homicide cases. The main narrative is a behind-the-scenes account of how one of those lawyers represents a man accused of killing a Chicago Police Officer in a highly controversial case."
Tags: public defenders; lawyers; homicide; criminal justice system; prisons; Cook County; courts;
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Debate as rare as 'no' votes on Cook County Board
This investigation found that Cook County Commissioners say they have little power as individuals, and have no defined, specific responsibilities. Many say most of the items that come before them are routine "housekeeping" matters. The board passed every one of the thousands of items that came before it in the last three years, and lobbying and back-room compromises often took the place of open debate and negotiation. The commissioners also defend practices of county leaders hiring friends and political associates.
Tags: Cook County; budget; County Clerk; treasurer; sheriff; state attorney; county finances; Cook County Board; county commissioners; finance committee; Cook County Sheriff's Department; Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee; Illinois Open Meetings Act; Department of Public Health
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Juries and Justice
In a two-part series the Chicago Reporter examines "the racial composition of juries in Cook County, and how the racial make-up of juries might affect their verdicts." The first part reveals that whites and suburbanites are selected to serve on juries in numbers disproportinately high, according to demographic analysis of the county's population. The major finding in the second part is that all-white juries more often reached guilty verdicts for black defendants than juries that included at least three people from mostly black neighborhoods.
Tags: judges; prosecutors; courts; litigation; crime; Illinois Appellate Court; the Cook County Public Defender; low income; poverty; racial disparity; CAR; Database Mapping Project
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Juvenile Injustice
Chicago Sun-Times gives an overall look at Cook County, Illinois' juvenile justice system and reflects a system severly stressed, where mistakes occur regularly, trials move at a slow pace, and public defenders are overwhelmed; the system is so stressed that justice is rarely achieved, March 22 - 27, 1992.
Tags: Nelson