In June of 2009, the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network began to train the first volunteers for a new Court Watch program at the Centralized Domestic Violence Courthouse in Cook County. The mission of the court watch program is to 1) increase public awareness of domestic violence and the domestic violence laws, 2) encourage community involvement in the judicial system, 3) promote accountability, transparency, and adherence to the Illinois Domestic Violence Act. CURL is assisting the Network by entering, organizing, and analyzing the data gathered by the court watch volunteers. The year one report will be released in late October, 2010.

· D. Van Zytveld, CURL
· Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network