Cook County Public Defenders Blog

For the information of our members, we are in another budget cycle, the results of which are uncertain right now.  There have been hearings on the 2008 budget for weeks, and there are more hearings today (Friday, 11/30/07) that could have an affect on our office. 

In preparation for the budget battle in general and for today’s hearings in particular, members of the union executive board have met in person with key county commissioners to make a pitch for our office.  In addition, AFSCME has been working the budget cycle as hard as ever.  While the outcome is still not yet clear, and we don’t know where the votes will fall for revenue generation or budget cuts, we continue to fight for our members in particular and our office in general.

All members are encouraged to follow the budget battle in the media and check our website for more information.

Our Holiday Party RSVP issue has been resolved.  RSVPs are being accepted until the deadline, of December 10, 2007.  

The union holiday party will be held on December 14, 2007 at Moretti’s.  Flyers have gone out but please note that there is a problem in that the email address is sending out an automatic “it’s too late to rsvp” message.  We will fix it as soon as possible.  Thanks for your understanding.

November 20, 2007- Today, AFSCME Council 31 announced that the Union will file suit against the County Board President Todd Stroger, asserting that Stroger has improperly suppressed staffing levels at the Office of the Public Defender, and improperly laid off 13 assistant public defenders earlier this year, both in violation of state law.This suit will be filed at the request of the Executive Board of Public Defender Local 3315.Since the 2007 budget process and the improper public defender layoffs, the Executive Board has been working to address our unacceptable staffing levels. We will be seeking injunctive relief, and back pay for attorneys who were laid off. We are represented by the law firm of Cornfield & Feldman in this suit.Specifically, the lawsuit will assert that state law grants only the County Board the authority to set staffing levels in the Cook County Public Defender Office. When the County Board exercised this authority during the 2007 budget process, the Board authorized enough positions for every assistant public defender then employed by the Office. In contravention to this staffing plan by the County Board, President Stroger laid off 13 assistant public defenders.In addition to layoffs, the suit will allege that President Stroger improperly permitted the number of attorneys in the Office to decline further by refusing to hire assistant public defenders to replace the dozens of attorneys who have recently left our Office, further acting in contravention of the County Board staffing plan and state law. The lawsuit will seek an injunction that prevents President Stroger from disregarding the authority of the County Board to set staffing levels in the Office of the Public Defender, will seek a declaration that President Stroger must take necessary steps to increase the number of attorneys in the Office to the level authorized by the County Board, and will seek back pay for our members who were improperly laid off in 2007.Through this lawsuit, AFSCME Council 31 and your Executive Board hope to restore justice to this Office and its clients by fighting for appropriate staffing levels. One measure of justice in our system is the caseloads carried by our attorneys. In an Office where caseloads are excessive by any measure, justice requires that action be taken to fully staff our Office.

Walter Allen’s conviction for attempt murder and 43 year prison sentence was reversed in a scholarly opinion by Justice Wolfson because he found the trial court “failed to conduct a meaningful inquiry” into the Allen’s proposed testimony by an expert in the field of eye witness identification prior to barring the testimony. Justice Wolfson writes that the trial court’s ”conclusion that the proposed {expert} testimony would confuse the jury had no considered basis.”  This opinion is a must read for anyone with an identification case or even a case in which you are trying to call an expert witness in a field that is not regularly accepted in Illinois courts.  People v. Walter Allen, 2007 Ill App LEXIS 1054 (9/28/2007) .

President K S “Bob” Galhotra spoke to a meeting of the Finance Committee of the Cook County Board at the Skokie Courthouse on October 30, 2007. He made three points on behalf of our members. First, he thanked the board for and increase in the number of APDs in next years budget but told the board that the budget was meaningless unless the office was actually allowed to hire the attorneys the budget sets out. He pointed out to the gathered commissioners that the office has not been allowed to hire any currently budgeted lawyers for many months and the office is short many lawyers as a result. He asked for “Parity in Hiring”, making a reference to the meetings held earlier this year in January when ASAs asked for Parity for Prosecutors. Several commissioners seemed surprised to learn of this de facto hiring freeze. Second, Galhotra told the board members of his concern about the spread of MRSA (staph) infections at the jail and the risk our members face as a result in the cutbacks of medical staff at Cermack Hospital. Finally the President told the board that staff cutbacks at the jail has led to members being denied jail visits to clients because of staff shortages. Galhotra’s presentation was met by applause by many present at the meeting.