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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
THE LAW OFFICE OF THE COOK COUNTY PUBLIC DEFENDER TO REPRESENT COOK COUNTY RESIDENTS BEFORE IMMIGRATION COURTS OUTSIDE COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender (“Law Office”) has a mission to protect the fundamental rights, liberties, and dignity of each person whose case has been entrusted to it by providing the finest legal representation to individuals appearing before the Circuit Court of Cook County; and
WHEREAS, the Law Office with its expertise in defending the constitutional rights of its clients and its history of providing zealous representation to indigent clients, is uniquely qualified to represent indigent noncitizens who are otherwise unable to obtain counsel, including those with criminal backgrounds and those who are incarcerated; and
WHEREAS, Public Act 102-0410, signed into law by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker on August 19, 2021, authorizes public defender offices in counties with over three million residents and with the county board’s concurrence, to represent noncitizens in immigration cases arising within an immigration court located within the county, effective January 1, 2022; and
WHEREAS, on January 13, 2022, the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed Resolution 22-1161, authorizing the Law Office to represent individuals whose cases arose in the Chicago immigration court in their immigration cases in accordance with Public Act 102-0410; and
WHEREAS, over the past three years the Immigration Division has successfully represented numerous noncitizens appearing before the Chicago Immigration Court; and
WHEREAS, changes to immigration policy raise significant concerns that Cook County residents will be detained and transferred to facilities outside of the Chicago Immigration Court’s jurisdiction, where they will not have access to counsel; and
WHEREAS, Public Act 102-0410 states that the Cook County Board of Commissioners may authorize representation outside of Cook County.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners authorizes the Law Office, in its discretion, to represent Cook County residents appearing before immigration courts outside of Cook County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be tendered to the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender as a means of communicating our concurrence and support of the Law Office’s plans to provide immigration removal defense as authorized by Public Act 102-0410.
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