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When violent crime goes up, we usually hear about law enforcement responses. More police on the streets. More jails. Harsher penalties. But Chicago, and other cities around the world, is also trying an unlikely cure for violence:…

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Felony Factory

by Angela Caputo

February 12, 2013

You’ve just been arrested, charged with a felony and can’t afford to pay your bail, let alone hire a lawyer. You know you have the right to a trial by jury or judge, but what happens when the legal system is too busy to see you? Public defenders in Cook County, Illinois, struggle to fill the gap at one of the busiest court complexes in the nation.