Criminal Justice System

The Trump administration’s dismantling of AmeriCorps has shut down a free legal assistance program at the McLean County courthouse that helped self-represented litigants navigate a wide range of court cases.

Panelists came together Thursday in Normal to share their stories and talk about the psychological impacts of adjusting from being incarcerated to getting back to everyday life.

McLean County police and people who were formerly incarcerated took the stage Wednesday at Heartland Community College for an open discussion about the criminal justice system.

One year after Illinois became the first state in the nation to eliminate the use of cash bail, the impact on the state’s criminal justice system appears to have been far less dramatic than people on either side of the debate had predicted.

Abolition of cash bail was placed on hold in December pending appeal to Supreme Court

Nearly a year before cash bail is set to end in Illinois, supporters of the Pretrial Fairness Act in Bloomington-Normal are bracing to fight for its existence.

Two criminal justice advocates who helped craft Illinois’ new criminal justice reform law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in February say the legislation might…

The Illinois Department of Corrections and a number of elderly and medically vulnerable prisoners seeking early release from state prisons due to COVID-19…

The pandemic has slowed programs in McLean County that help keep people out of prison and the county jail.Michael Donavan, the county's court services…