A scathing new look at Cook County's court system says domestic violence survivors who ask for help are instead met with a maze of hearings, fees and red tape that can deepen their trauma and put them in further danger.
The final Phase I report, released July 13, 2026, by the Chicago-Cook County Violence Against Women Task Force, follows six months of public hearings and testimony from survivors, advocates and government officials. The 29-page document lays out a slate of practical fixes aimed at making it easier to get protection: record every hearing, provide free transcripts, expand free legal help and stop threatening jail time over unpaid court costs, according to the Chicago-Cook County Violence Against Women Task Force.
Produced by Chicago77 Charities with technical assistance from the University of Chicago Crime Lab and other partners, the report frames those steps as part of a broader push for transparency, interagency data-sharing and consistent oversight across city and county agencies. Phase I, conducted from January through June 2026, was driven largely by survivor testimony and working-group findings, the task force said.
How the system is failing survivors
Survivors who came forward during public hearings described a court system that often re-victimizes them instead of providing safety. Sarah Brown, for example, told local reporters her case has dragged on for nine and a half years and has been assigned to eight different judges. She said she had to complete protection-order paperwork alone and was denied a permanent order despite what she described as ongoing danger.
In the middle of that bleak picture, the task force highlighted one striking data point: within six months of the group's launch, domestic-related homicides in Cook County dropped 53 percent, a change officials attribute in part to higher engagement across departments, according to WTTW.
Advocates warned that progress could evaporate if the county does not back it up with long-term funding and staffing. Amy Fox, executive director of Life Span, told WTTW that her organization turns away roughly 60 percent of people who ask for help because it does not have the resources to serve everyone. She added that Cook County only began funding domestic violence services in 2023 and that much of the early support came from COVID-era federal relief money that has since diminished.
County funding and grants
Cook County has started steering more grant dollars toward community-based supports. The Justice Advisory Council's grants page lists new Notices of Funding Opportunity and multi-million-dollar American Rescue Plan-funded initiatives for domestic violence intervention and wraparound services. The county portal shows open applications this summer for Community Violence Intervention and related programs aimed at expanding legal support, counseling and housing for survivors, according to the Cook County Justice Advisory Council.
Advocates say how those funds are ultimately distributed will be a crucial test of whether the Phase I recommendations translate into more counselors, advocates and lawyers in courtrooms and community offices rather than just words on paper.
What the task force hopes will change
The report stresses that no single agency is responsible for protecting survivors once they enter the system. That gap means victims can be bounced from local police to the sheriff's office to multiple courthouses without anyone owning the follow-through. Officials at public hearings said that fragmentation fuels problems like orders of protection that are never served and paperwork processes so complicated that many people simply give up.
Task force leaders have already presented their findings to the Chicago City Council's Public Safety Committee and plan to bring the report to Cook County committees this month. "When someone walks in the door, they're seeking help from their government," Katie Dunne of Chicago77 told NBC Chicago, which also reported that the group will present its findings to the Cook County Board's Criminal Justice Committee on July 15.
Legal implications
Some of the recommendations could be put in place without new laws. Mandating that every Domestic Relations Court hearing be recorded and that free transcripts be provided would likely fall under the authority of the chief judge. Ending threats of jail for unpaid civil fees, on the other hand, would require policy changes at the clerk's office and clearer, more consistent practices inside courthouses.
The Phase I report presents these proposals as practical, relatively low-cost changes that would cut down on how many times survivors have to retell traumatic events and strengthen accountability across the system, according to the Chicago-Cook County Violence Against Women Task Force. Implementation will depend on cooperation across the courts, law enforcement and county offices so the reforms are applied consistently from courthouse to courthouse.
What to watch next is whether city and county leaders embrace the report's legislative agenda and whether grant funding reaches frontline groups that are currently turning survivors away. The Justice Advisory Council's grant deadlines and the July committee hearings are likely to be the first real indicators of whether anyone is serious about change, according to the Cook County Justice Advisory Council. For survivors and advocates, the ultimate measure of success will be simple: fewer procedural hurdles, more courtroom advocates and a justice system that offers actual protection when people ask for help.
