Public Accountability Report
State Appellate Defender, Office of the
(Appropriated Spending in Thousands)
| FY |
FY |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting Programs | Expenditures | Headcount | Expenditures | Headcount |
| Indigent Appellate Defense Statewide | $ 26,890.3 | 258.0 | $ 23,850.7 | 249.0 |
| Non-Reporting Programs | ||||
| $ 469.2 | 4.0 | $ 459.8 | 4.0 | |
| $ 200.7 | 2.0 | $ 187.4 | 2.0 | |
| $ 109.5 | N/A | $ 88.1 | N/A | |
| Totals | $ 27,669.7 | 264.0 | $ 24,586.0 | 255.0 |
Amounts may not sum to total due to rounding.
Agency Narrative
The principal function of the Office of the State Appellate Defender (OSAD) is to represent indigent persons on appeal in criminal cases when appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court, the Appellate Court, or the Circuit Court. The Administrative Office of the agency is located in Springfield, with district offices in each of the five appellate court districts -- Chicago, Elgin, Ottawa, Springfield, and Mt. Vernon. We have a unit that handles appeals under the Pretrial Fairness Act (725 ILCS 5/110) headquartered in Chicago.
The Illinois Juvenile Defender Resource Center was created by the Illinois General Assembly to support the work of attorneys representing youth in delinquency and criminal court, and to study and implement model systems for the delivery of juvenile defender services in Illinois. (725 ILCS 105/10(c)(6)) The Center maintains a website and monthly newsletter for attorneys with up-to-date information on case law, trainings, news items, and legislative changes affecting juvenile defense. Through the website, attorneys can access the JDRC Case Law Summaries, links to expert materials and resources, sample pleadings, and free on-demand CLE courses for Illinois juvenile defenders. The Center also provides advice and assistance to attorneys on individual cases, sponsors free live CLE training to juvenile defenders, and provides need-based funding for expert witnesses, evaluations, and investigators for attorneys representing youth in delinquency and criminal court.
The Office of the State Appellate Defender has a Training Department that conducts or hosts numerous training programs for OSAD attorneys, Chief Public Defenders, and county-level public defenders, including the Jamie Kunz Trial Advocacy Program.
In fiscal year 2024, OSAD’s expungement unit received 3,109 emails and 2,299 phone calls requesting information about expungement and sealing of records. A total of 2,476 packets were sent to prisons for those still incarcerated, sent to IDES, and provided at community events to those who requested additional information. OSAD staff attorneys participate in community events to promote public awareness of expungement and sealing availability. In fiscal year 2023, OSAD participated in 41 Zoom events, plus 17 in-person prison visits. In addition, as web presence continues to grow, there were 35,995 individual downloads of expungement-related forms from the OSAD site during the fiscal year.
