Alameda County became the second county in the nation to eliminate their administrative fees charged to people exiting jail and the criminal justice system. The East Bay Community Law Center wrote a great report entitled Pay or Prey and led the charge to repeal these onerous fees. Further across the country, Chicago started a Fines and Fees Task Force, modeled on the Financial Justice Project, that will issue recommendations for reforms in May.
Congratulations to City Clerk Anna Valencia and all the women at COFI Power Pack who called for Task Force in their report Stopping The Debt Spiral. Stopping The Debt Spiral. Chicago NPR station WBEZ previously visited San Francisco to report on The San Francisco Financial Justice Project as a potential model for Chicago. The Las Vegas Sun called on Las Vegas to become the third city to launch a Fines and Fees Task Force, after San Francisco and Chicago.