Bail reform: the latest on eliminating cash bail in Illinois
A look at the bail reform debate in Illinois, the SAFE-T Act’s passing, and the future of cash bail in the state.
By Katelyn Haas | September 19, 2023 at 3:08 PM
Illinois passed a law that eliminated the use of cash bail that goes into effect next week as part of the SAFE-T Act. Under the law judges could no longer require people to pay money in order to leave jail while they await trial.
Check out our past coverage below and follow along as the state navigates the elimination of cash bail.
The Illinois Supreme Court won’t hear oral arguments until March, and then the Court has to write its opinion(s). A poll found that 32% of voters had a favorable view of the SAFE-T Act, which included the elimination of cash bail, while 40% had an unfavorable view.
The most controversial provision of the SAFE-T Act promises to end the cash bail system starting this Sunday — but not in 64 counties where authorities have sued to halt the reform.
Kankakee County Chief Judge Thomas Cunnington sided with prosecutors and sheriffs from across Illinois in ruling that the cash bail section of the legislation violates the Illinois Constitution. Attorney General Kwame Raoul has vowed to appeal.
Lawyers argue that, “The Illinois Constitution interprets bail, at its core, to include a monetary amount that, though it may take different forms, cannot be abolished altogether without running afoul of the Constitution.”
The signing was nothing like his very public event for the original measure in February 2021 at Chicago State University, when he smiled and held up a copy of the 764-page criminal justice law that prompted dozens of lawsuits and a drumbeat of negative TV commercials.
Among the most overt changes in the legislation approved by both the House and Senate is that those charged with crimes before Jan. 1 would be able to remain in the old cash bail system — or request to be moved to the new system.