In February 2021, the Illinois General Assembly enacted sweeping changes to the state’s criminal justice system. The 764-page bill (now Public Act 101-0652), which has since been amended in part, addresses police conduct, bail reform, and pretrial release among other issues. In their June Illinois Bar Journal article, "To Release or Not to Release," Emily L. Fitch and Brenda M. (Duke) Mathis note that many prosecutors across the state opposed the changes in the bill while many defense attorneys embraced them.

The undergraduate Mock Trial Team for the University of Illinois is hosting its 15th Annual Illinois Invitational Tournament on October 22 - 23, 2022,  at the Urbana-Champaign campus. The Illinois Trial Team is in need of additional teams to judge the tournament on both Saturday (10/22) and Sunday (10/23).

The Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force (Task Force) will host a series of monthly town hall meetings starting on June 23 at 4:00 p.m. via Zoom. These meetings will update court stakeholders on the work of the Task Force as it prepares for the changes coming once the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, and will answer questions regarding the PFA. This legislation, passed as part of the SAFE-T Act, abolishes the use of cash bail in pretrial release decisions on Jan. 1 and establishes new processes for pretrial release and detention decisions. 

Illinois voters are responsible for electing and retaining judges. To assist them in making informed decisions, ISBA provides information about the qualifications of judicial candidates and judges seeking retention. Lawyers who practice alongside candidates and judges are in a unique position to assess the professional qualities that are necessary for good judges.