Heaven or hellhole?

The women of Wal-Mart

When Melissa Howard joined the Wal-Mart store in New Castle, Ind., in 1992, she received a blue vest, a red, white, and blue nametag, six bucks an hour, and the title of "electronics department

Waiting for justice

For some Illinois defendants, the right to a speedy trial is an illusion

The U.S. Constitution guarantees a criminal defendant the right to a speedy trial. In Illinois, the law defines "speedy" as 120 days from the day the defendant is charged. For almost a year,

Supreme fight

Special interests are turning the race for a seat on Illinois’ high court into a battle over legal reform

Contests for the Illinois House and Senate can be bloody and bruising, but judicial races are supposed to be kinder, gentler affairs. Lawyers who want to become judges traditionally say no more

Mad County

How one Illinois county’s legal system became a poster child for excess — and why Springfield feels the heat

Twenty years ago, critics slammed Madison County, Ill., as a "cesspool," but they weren't referring to its heavy industry -- the refineries, chemical plants and steel mills that spewed pollution