Criminal Justice
36 Inmates Waiting 5 Years for Trial in Chicago Area
Although backlogs have been reduced in recent years, there are 36 jail inmates in Cook County, Illinois, who have been awaiting trial for at least five years.
A total of 430 have been held at least two years without trial, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
The county, of which Chicago is a major component, has been working since 2003 to reduce the number of inmates waiting lengthy periods for trial, according to the newspaper. It says inmates who spent at least one year in jail prior to trial constituted 18.3 percent of the county’s inmate population in 2003 and dropped this year to 13.7 percent.
A planned increase in the number of judges in the county’s criminal system, from 40 to 45, is also expected to help reduce the backlog.
