Debt Arising from Illinois' Criminal Justice System

When a person exits the criminal justice system, the financial obligations he or she has incurred, including fines, fees, and restitution, often converge to create a significant barrier to successful reentry. This report represents the first step in making sense of the financial obligations assessed by the criminal justice system in Illinois. It is part one of a two-year study of how this system works as well as how it compares to systems in other states. This report focuses on identifying the different types of financial obligations that exist within the criminal justice system, any mechanisms that might relieve low-income defendants from debt that they cannot pay, and the devices that government agencies use to collect overdue debt in Illinois.

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