Illinois plans to eliminate cash bail earlier this year, now faces uncertainty following a judge’s ruling that some provisions of the legislation are unconstitutional.
The cashless bail statute, also known as the Pretrial Fairness Act, was established to create the Illinois the first state to officially eliminate cash bail and would require judges to determine whether a detained person should be released.
Just days before the measure was to take effect, Chief Judge Thomas W. Cunnington of the state’s 21st Judicial Circuit ruled that bail reform and bail provisions violated the Illinois constitution.. The ruling followed a class-action lawsuit filed by the sheriff, prosecutors and dozens of Illinois counties that oppose the law.
The Pretrial Fairness Act is part of an update to the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity Act (SAFE-T Act) opposed by Republicans, which features numerous reforms to pretrial detention protocols, the criminal justice system, and the police.
The police killing of George Floyd served as a catalyst for the SAFE-T Act, which took effect in February 2021. Some of the reforms included police training requirements, reporting and limitations on the use of force, filing anonymous complaints against officers by the police. and the use of body cameras.
While the fallout from Cunnington’s sentence remains uncertain, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul (D) said in a statement that it intends to take the decision directly to the Illinois Supreme Court on appeal, and that all other provisions of the SAFE-T Act remain intact. Raoul also specified that the decision applies only to the 65 counties involved in the process, and the application of bail will not proceed in the other counties.
“The right of people awaiting trial – people who have not been convicted of a crime and are presumed innocent – to seek release without having to pay cash bail will come into force within days, despite a court ruling against them . provisions,” Raoul said in the statement.
Republicans argued that the no-bail measure would result in the release of “violent crime suspects” with no guarantee that they would return for trial.
But supporters of the cashless bail statute argued that it was unfair that someone with limited resources would have to remain in jail before a trial while someone who is wealthier could be released.
According to Prison policy initiativemore than 400,000 people in the United States are currently in pretrial detention, many of whom cannot afford bail. This problem also disproportionately affects the black and brown communities it faces higher rates of incarceration and poverty.
“This lawsuit and subsequent ruling are the culmination of a concerted effort to undermine reform; those who seek to denigrate these reforms are supporters of a system that has contributed to the racial injustices of mass incarceration and overpolicing of black and brown communities, which has diminished the safety, resilience and confidence of many residents,” Cook County officials said. , which includes Chicago, wrote in a joint statement.
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