Progress Through Partnership
E-Newsletter for members and friends of Chicago Appleseed
and the Chicago Council of Lawyers

July 10, 2008

In this e-Newsletter:

Council Receives the Legal Leadership Award
 

CCL no wordsAt its 2008 Annual Meeting, the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty presented its Legal Leadership Award to the Chicago Council of Lawyers. The Council thanks the Illinois Coalition for this award.

In accepting the award on behalf of the Council, Board President Daniel Coyne outlined the history of the Council's involvement in the death penalty issue. In 1997, the Council became the first local bar association in the United States to call for a death penalty moratorium. The Council publicly called upon all three branches of Illinois government to impose a moratorium on the death penalty and to create a study commission to determine why so many men on Illinois' Death Row were innocent of the crimes of which they were convicted.

The Council and the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice then began researching the death penalty process and ultimately produced a 56-page report released in 2000 entitled, Due Process and the Death Penalty in Illinois. The report detailed on a case-by-case basis how flaws in the death penalty system led to wrongfully convicted persons. The report was well-received and several, although not nearly enough, of the recommendations have been implemented. The death penalty system remains broken.

In December 2007, after evaluating the abysmal progress of reform at the legislative level in seeking to fix the death penalty system, the Council determined that further action was warranted. The Board of Governors of the Council passed by unanimous consent a resolution calling upon the Illinois General Assembly to either implement all of the dozens of recommendations set forth by the Council and the Governor's Commission on the Death Penalty or abolish the death penalty:

A Policy Statement from the Chicago Council of Lawyers
December, 2007

A death penalty system that does not ensure the fair and just administration of law's ultimate punishment is reprehensible. Full implementation of essential safeguards designed to prevent wrongful imposition of the irrevocable sentence of death is more than an aspiration. It is a necessity. The Chicago Council of Lawyers believes that if Illinois is not wholeheartedly committed to enacting necessary reforms to a demonstrably broken system, the death penalty in this state should itself be extinguished.

During the past decade, the Chicago Council of Lawyers has examined Illinois' capital punishment system, issued proposals to reform that system, and monitored developments in capital punishment in Illinois and the United States. After it became known that several innocent men had been sentenced to Illinois' death row, the Council in 1997 called on all three branches of Illinois government to impose a moratorium on executions and to appoint commissions to recommend reforms. In 2000, then- Governor George Ryan imposed a moratorium on executions and established a Commission on Capital Punishment, which ultimately made 85 recommendations. Also in 2000, the Council and the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice issued a 56-page report entitled Due Process and the Death Penalty in Illinois which made several recommendations aimed at improving both trial and post-conviction procedures in capital cases. The Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Supreme Court also appointed committees to study Illinois' death penalty. In 2003, Governor Ryan commuted the death sentences of all 167 inmates on Illinois' death row, noting that the legislature had failed to act on his Commission's recommendations.

By late 2007, the great majority of recommended reforms to the death penalty still have not been implemented even while capital cases continue to be prosecuted and individuals are sentenced to death. This underwhelming response to a life or death crisis created by the justice system itself is not tolerable.

In response, the Board of Governors of the Chicago Council of Lawyers has voted to support the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois if the Illinois General Assembly does not take aggressive action to immediately implement all of the recommendations found in the Governor's and the Council's reports. The Council urges its members, other bar associations, and individual lawyers to join in support of this position.

Daniel T. Coyne
President, Chicago Council of Lawyers

Malcolm C. Rich
Executive Director, Chicago Council of Lawyers

2008 Annual Luncheon Tickets Now on Sale!
 Save the date for Tuesday, October 7

dual logoTickets for the 2008 Annual Luncheon are on sale now! Join us on Tuesday, October 7 at the Palmer House Hilton. The reception will begin at 11:30am, with the lunch and program at noon.

The keynote speaker is Paula Wolff, Ph.D., Senior Executive at Chicago Metropolis 2020. The Commitment to Justice Honorees are Richard A. Devine, Cook County State's Attorney, and Edwin A. Burnette, Cook County Public Defender.

The 2008 Annual Luncheon serves as the 39th Annual Meeting for the Chicago Council of Lawyers, and the 11th Annual Meeting for Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice. To purchase your ticket or sponsor a table, contact Amanda Grant at 312-988-6599, or agrant@chicagoappleseed.org.

 

 Introducing Our Summer Interns, Fellows and Staff
 Meet our newest team members!

dual logoIn the spring and summer months, Chicago Appleseed welcomes interns, Fellows and volunteers from all over the Midwest to our staff. These talented individuals dedicate their time and skills to a variety of projects on the Chicago Appleseed roster. With their hard work, we're making tremendous progress on new and existing projects. Special thanks to:

John Bernard, Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Public Interest Law Initiative Fellow (Kirkland & Ellis LLP)

Leigh Bonsall, Loyola University College of Law
Public Interest Law Society Summer Fellow

Aldo Gallardo, Northwestern University

Peter Heinz, Connecticut College

Jung Lee, University of Illinois College of Law
Public Interest Law Initiative Fellow (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)

Elizabeth Phillips, Northwestern University

Leila Stahlik-Barry, Northwestern University