The Illinois Supreme Court and Chief Justice Anne M. Burke has announced the formation of a Supreme Court Statutory Court Fees Task Force. The task force has been established to conduct a thorough review of the new Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act (CTAA), an act designed to reduce the statutory fees imposed or assessed on criminal defendants and civil litigants, the task force is mandated with examining the fiscal impact of the civil and criminal fee schedules. The task force will also review the implementation of the act, suggesting any legislative or rule changes that may be required. The Task Force will submit a report and recommendations to the Supreme Court and General Assembly within one year.
The Task Force is made up of a bipartisan body of judges, retired judges, legislators, circuit clerks, and members of the private bar from across Illinois.
The new Task Force serves as a replacement for the Court’s original 15-person Task Force created under the Access to Justice Act. Recommendations from the original Task Force were the foundation for the CTAA .
Chief Justice Burke has said “The reforms enacted to simplify court costs were an important step and we are grateful to the original Task Force for its hard work. There was always the expectation that additional improvements would be necessary, and we look forward to hearing from the new Task Force on what those might be.”
Read more about the task force here.