Hannah Meisel’s recent report for Capitol News Illinois
included a line that jumped out at me: “Per state law — which hasn’t been
updated since 1949 — only counties with 35,000 or more residents are required
to set up offices of public defender.” According to information posted on numerous websites (Illinois
Demographics, Wikipedia and World Population Review), a majority of 62 out of
102 Illinois counties have fewer than 35,000 residents…