After four months of incarceration and another four months on house arrest, a jury found George "not guilty" on July 26th in his aggravated unlawful use of a weapon case. CCBF is thrilled that George, a 19-year-old father of an infant daughter, can now return to his family and life. At the same time, we are outraged that George was forced to endure eight months of devastating pretrial punishment for charges that he was ultimately exonerated of.

Before he was arrested in November 2016, George was a senior in high school, working a regular job, and had just found out that he was going to be a dad. He was accused by police of having a gun in his possession and locked up in Cook County Jail with a bond of $50,000 dollars, even though he had no background. Unable to afford the $5,000 required for his release, George was incarcerated for four months under terrible conditions. During his pretrial incarceration, he considered taking a plea deal just to escape the situation. George says he wants everyone to know that jail is hell.

On March 28, 2017, CCBF posted $5,000 to secure George's freedom. After a pretrial services officer told his judge that George hadn't contacted the office quickly enough after his release, George was put on electronic monitoring. Electronic monitoring (a form of house arrest) made it impossible for him to go to school, work a job, or financially support his daughter and girlfriend. Frustrated by restrictions on his movement and worn down by the criminal legal system, George—again—almost took a plea deal. Nevertheless, when he was finally went to trial, George prevailed!

Now that his case is over, George plans to spend time with his daughter, stepson, girlfriend, mother, and siblings. Still, he lost eight months of his life to pretrial incarceration and house arrest—time that he can never get back. These conditions amounted to punishment meted out before trial, and highlight the problems of pretrial "services" or incarceration based on certain allegations such as gun possession. George's case exposes the brutality of a system that punishes people before they have faced trial and reminds us that when the system doesn't succeed in forcing a plea, some people will be found to be innocent of the charges against them. It further highlights how the criminalization of guns is not and will never be a real solution for addressing social harms, and instead only gives prosecutors and police more ammunition for imposing punishment—even before individuals have been convicted.

George wants people reading his story to understand that this could happen to anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is a photo of George and one of his lawyers from the Cook County Public Defender's Office, who won the jury trial.

Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, CCBF posted bond for Andrea so that she could celebrate at home with her family. Andrea is a 33 year old mother of three who was incarcerated in Cook County Jail for 36 days because she could not pay a $10,000 bond.

Andrea had only one previous dismissed case and no prior convictions. She is the primary caretaker for her 5, 11, and 14 year old children, and was working as a home healthcare provider at the time of her arrest. Despite all these factors in her favor, a judge ordered her held in jail unless she could post 10% of her $100,000 bond. Andrea's mother Gloria was arrested at the same time and also held on a $100,000 bond. Their family had already maxed out their resources and even borrowed money to get Gloria out first because of her health needs, so Andrea was not sure how she would get out other than by pleading guilty.

Unfortunately, being incarcerated for over a month caused Andrea to lose her job. Because she works in health care, it is extra important to Andrea's future that she is now free and able to fight her case. Though Andrea was feeling a lot of pressure to plead guilty in order to get out of jail, having a conviction on her record would have made it much harder for her to work in the future. Now that Andrea is out, she and her mother can strategize together and participate in their own defense. Andrea has been reunited with her kids and has found a new job at a hotel so that she can continue supporting herself and her family while her case proceeds.

In December of 2015, CCBF joined with Love & Protect, Moms United Against Violence & Incarceration, and 15 other organizations to free Naomi Freeman, a pregnant 23-year-old mother of two. Naomi had already spent six months in Cook County Jail. Determined to get her back to her family and out of jail before giving birth,we raised her $35,000 bond in less than a week.

Naomi is charged with first-degree murder because she chose to survive an attack by an abusive partner. Had Naomi not acted in self- defense, it is likely that she would be dead. Instead, Naomi survived and is being punished for saving her own life.

In total, 345 people donated to Naomi's freedom in amounts ranging from $3 to $1,000. More than $13,000 was raised in online donations to supplement a $26,000 grant from the Women's Justice Fund housed at Crossroads Fund. The WJF was established in the 1990s specifically to post bond for domestic violence survivors criminalized for actions taken in self-defense. Partially as a result of this successful campaign to #FreeNaomiFreeman, the WJF has now been transferred to the Chicago Community Bond Fund (CCBF), where it will remain available as a revolving fund designated to serving women charged with crimes related to self-defense.

On April 17, 2016, CCBF posted Leon's $2,500 bond. Leon was 46 years old and had been working with Growing Home Inc, an urban farm and job training program. He was arrested for allegedly stealing toiletries from a convenience store. Unable to pay his own bond, Leon was poised to spend weeks (if not months) in CCJ. Among other consequences, that would have kept Leon from completing Growing Home's job training program and from benefitting from the support of his case managers there.

Bonding Leon out not only brought him freedom, but also allowed him to graduate from Growing Home. Two months after we posted Leon's bond, he secured full-time employment at a restaurant. Leon's case was dismissed one month after CCBF posted his bond, and the funds returned to us so we could bond out additional people.

On June 13, 2016 CCBF posted a $10,000 bond to free 24 year-old Morgan from Cook County Jail. Morgan was 37 weeks pregnant and had been in CCJ since March 2nd. Morgan was charged with child endangerment following the accidental death of her 14 month-old son. Grieving and charged with responsibility for her own profound loss, Morgan was locked away from her family and community during the worst possible time.

If she had given birth while incarcerated, Morgan would have had only up to 48 hours with her newborn girl before being forced to turn her over to a relative or the state. That immediate separation would have prevented mother-child bonding during a crucial period of attachment. Morgan would have then faced the impossible choice between accepting a plea (and the corresponding lifelong criminal conviction) or remaining in jail awaiting trial for what could be the first two years of her daughter's life. Morgan gave birth, in freedom, to a beautiful baby girl on July 2.

Maria and her 19-year-old daughter Destiny were arrested on April 28, 2016 and charged with aggravated battery against a police officer just days after Maria's son and Destiny's brother Gino was shot and killed in North Lawndale. Maria's bond was set at $50,000 and Destiny's was set at $25,000, as they grieved for Gino from Cook County Jail. The next day, they were both released on electronic monitoring. Due to Cook County Sheriff regulations that two people cannot be on house arrest at the same address, Maria was dropped off at her sister's house in one neighborhood and Destiny was dropped off at her mother's in a different one.

Over the next two weeks, Maria and Destiny were denied every request for movement they and their attorney made. Maria and Destiny both worked as cleaners through a temp agency. Destiny was also a senior in high school. Despite letters and paperwork from Maria's employers and Destiny's school, the only movement they received was to attend Gino's wake and funeral---which had already been rescheduled once because of their arrests. Because their requests for movement to go to work were repeatedly denied, Maria and Destiny were in danger of losing their apartment due to their inability to support themselves while on house arrest.

Recognizing the urgency of their situation, CCBF posted the $7,500 in bond on May 16th. Maria and Destiny were both able to return to work, and Destiny was able to finish school. Most importantly, they are both able to fight their charges without the social isolation and financial burden of house arrest. CCBF is committed to challenging the use of electronic monitoring as a viable alternative to complete release pending trial. What happened to Maria and Destiny illustrates that, like jail, house arrest has a profoundly disruptive impact on employment, education and community healing.

On September 9, 2016, CCBF posted $2,500 to free Lee from Cook County Jail. Lee is 24 years old and has lived in Chicago for his whole life. Lee had been locked up since December 23, 2015; he endured nine months of incarceration just because he couldn't afford to post bond. Lee continues to face a felony charge for allegedly intimidating a witness (who is also a Chicago police officer). Lee's chances in fighting his case, however, have greatly improved now that he is out of jail and able to participate in his own defense.

Though being incarcerated pretrial caused Lee to lose his job and housing back in December, Lee was able to find a new full-time job within weeks of being out on bond. Since then, he has also obtained his own stable housing and is planning to return to school in the coming months to study computer science and programming. Lee has volunteered with various local nonprofits since he was 17, and he continues that work now that he is free.

On Sunday, May 1st, CCBF posted $2,000 to free Steven from Cook County Jail. Steven was 23 years old and shared an apartment with his fiancée, mother, and uncle in Humboldt Park. The month before, Steven was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance. Unable to pay his bond, he spent more than 30 days in jail before his fiancée contacted CCBF for help paying his bond.

Prior to being arrested, Steven worked at a car shop, but he lost that job as a result of being incarcerated so long. After he got out, Steven spent each day looking for work and caring for his ill mother. Steven's family is very supportive, but simply lacked the savings to put up $2,000. Immediately following his release, his family threw a barbecue to celebrate Steven's freedom.

Less than a week after being bonded out, Steven called us to let us know that his case was thrown out at preliminary hearing after the judge found the testimony of the police officer who arrested him not credible! Congratulations Steven, nothing will give you back that time you spent in a cage, but we are glad you no longer have these charges hanging over your head!

A year ago yesterday, Pierre Loury was shot and killed by Chicago Police. Pierre, a 16 year-old resident of the West Side, was trying to climb the back fence to his home in North Lawndale when police shot him in the back. The next evening, hundreds of people gathered outside Pierre’s home to hold a vigil and stand in solidarity with his family. Following the vigil, hundreds marched down the block to the Chicago Police black site at Homan Square and briefly shut down Interstate 290. The march came off the highway at the Harrison and Kedzie Police Station, where police attacked demonstrators and arrested several people.

Shimron was among the people arrested a year ago today. After being sent to bond court the next morning, his bond was set at $30,000 (requiring a payment of ten percent or $3,000). CCBF posted Shimron's bond that evening, preventing him from spending the next year incarcerated while awaiting trial. Shimron was represented by a volunteer attorney through the National Lawyers Guild of Chicago’s Mass Defense program.

Last month, Shimron’s case resolved without Shimron having to spend any additional time behind bars. With his case behind him, Shimron is getting ready tour the southeastern United States promoting his music! You can listen to Shimron's music here: https://superfree-man.bandcamp.com/. The $3,000 that was posted to free Shimron will now come back to CCBF’s revolving fund and be used to free someone else from Cook County Jail.

Last year, CCBF posted bond for 11 demonstrators standing up for social justice and liberation throughout Chicago. Since CCBF was created in the fall of 2015, no one arrested at a progressive protest in the city of Chicago has had to spend more than 48 hours in Cook County Jail after their bond was set.

A year after Pierre's murder, still no CPD officers have been held accountable. CCBF is proud to stand with Black Lives Matter Chicago and Pierre's family (The 411 Movement For Pierre Loury) as they demand justice for Pierre and other victims of police violence.