SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Supreme Court announced a new policy on transparency that will apply to courts across the state.
The state supreme court released a policy document that takes effect on July 1. Starting on that date, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) will release data about the cases that courts are handling, including information from from the Supreme and Apellate Courts, Circuit Clerk Offices, Court Services and Probation, Juvenile Detention Centers and the Illinois Office of Statewide Pretrial Services (OSPS).
“Transparency means making data, budgets, and financial reports accessible to the public,” Chief Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr. said in a statement. “The judiciary’s strongest bridge to public trust and to the restoration of confidence in our courts.”
The policy requires those entities to report information such as the activity of all civil cases, total cases under probation supervision and the number of new juvenile offenses in a county.
The AOIC will also be charged with publishing the budget for the Judicial Branch and identifying the number of full-time judicial branch employees and organizational charts on or before July 31 and every year going forward.
The supreme court said the AOIC and OSPS will review the policy annually and consider whether additional categories of data and information should be made publicly available.