Public Newsroom #44: Court Watch Training

6:00 pm — 8:00 pm

The idea that people are innocent until proven guilty is a bedrock principle of America’s judicial system, but the widespread practice of requiring people to pay money bond for their freedom while they await trial incarcerates tens of thousands of people each year before they have a trial. More than 4,400 people in Cook County Jail at any given time are there because they cannot afford to pay bond. The People’s Lobby is a Chicago-based organization devoted to organizing support for public policies and candidates that put the needs of the people and the planet before the interests of big corporations and the very rich. At our December 14th Public Newsroom, they will be leading a discussion on the racial and economic injustice of pre-trial money bail in the Circuit Court of Cook County. As part of their popular education series, they will explain how the system works, present an analysis of the problem and its causes, and share ways we can fight back with a solution of our own. Join us to begin taking down one of the major pillars of our broken criminal justice system.

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