Advocates celebrate a year without money bond in Illinois

One year after the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the Pretrial Fairness Act, which ended the use of money bond across the state, advocates gathered to celebrate its impact and discuss the next steps for creating a more equitable legal system in Illinois.

On Wednesday, September 18, the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice, a coalition of nearly 50 organizations working to end cash bail and reduce pretrial jailing, hosted a press conference outside the George N. Leighton Criminal Courthouse, at 2650 S. California, with community members, local representatives, criminal justice advocates, faith leaders, and others.

The law’s passage was historic—making Illinois the first state in the country to pass legislation ending the practice of collecting cash bond for those charged with crimes.

The group discussed how the act has helped ensure people charged with crimes in Illinois, especially those from Black and Brown communities, aren’t required to pay large sums of money to post bond or face indefinite detention whilst awaiting trial. A collaborative effort between thousands of people across the state, the Pretrial Fairness Act has so far succeeded in creating a more “fair” and “just” Illinois, Reverend Violet Johnicker of Brooke Road United Methodist Church in Rockford, said on Wednesday.

“In every corner of this state, people were being caged, not because they were a danger to the community, but simply because they couldn’t afford to purchase their freedom,” Johnicker said. “Since taking effect last year, the Pretrial Fairness Act has reduced pretrial jailing, made the pretrial process fairer, and kept millions of dollars in our poorest communities.”

State senator Robert Peters, state representative Justin Slaughter, Cook County board president Toni Preckwinkle, Reverend Dr. Otis Moss III of the Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation policy director Madeleine Behr, and others from groups like the Chicago Community Trust and the MacArthur Justice Center were also in attendance on Wednesday. Remarks were positive, focusing on the legislation that critics believed would have a detrimental impact on crime.

When the Pretrial Fairness Act went into effect on September 18, 2023—the result of the Illinois Supreme Court overturning a ruling by a lower-court Kankakee judge—Illinois became the first state to end the use of cash bail. The measure was included as part of the wide-ranging SAFE-T Act, which Governor J.B. Pritzker signed in 2021 and reformed the state’s criminal justice system through pre-arrest diversion, policing, pretrial sentencing, and corrections.

Critics of the legislation—often states attorneys, law enforcement, or right-wing political figures, such as then Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey—called the act a “purge” law, referring to the 2013 horror movie that depicts a scenario in which crime in the U.S. has been legalized for one day a year. Many believed if the law passed, it would lead to higher crime rates or result in a mass release of people from jails and prisons.

However, in the last year, Illinois has seen no dramatic increases in crime that can be directly attributed to the passage of the Pretrial Fairness Act. Representative Slaughter called the idea that eliminating cash bail would cause increases in crime “foolish rhetoric.”

Instead, according to Slaughter, crime rates have decreased since the Pretrial Fairness Act took effect—violent and private property crime rates dropped 12 percent statewide in the last year, he said—and the millions of dollars once spent on money bonds are staying in communities most impacted by the legal system.

“On average, annually, Illinoisans were spending $140 million on money bonds. These millions of dollars will now remain with family members across the state to contribute to the overall well-being and economic security of entire communities,” Slaughter said.

“It’s not lost on us, as well, that we are doing all we can to minimize the disruption of, generally, what pretrial was causing: the ability to remain in your home, to have custody of your children, in your job, in school. Also, we’re seeing positive impact as it relates to your health and medical situation. These are all situations that are able to be addressed in a more efficient way because of our new effort. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what safer communities look like.”

The press conference also highlighted the importance of supporting people charged with crimes, who often face challenges navigating the legal system, such as Lavette Mayes, who currently works with the Chicago Community Bond Fund (CCBF).

With the help of the CCBF, Mayes was able to pay her $250,000 bond after spending more than a year incarcerated at the Cook County Department of Corrections—the country’s largest single-site jail—and more than 100 days on electronic monitoring.

“When you incarcerate a woman, you incarcerate the whole family,” Mayes said at the press conference. “This day will always mark a special day for me because I know that what I went through no one else’s family will have to suffer: the loss of kids, housing, and your ability to work or medical [care], or just simply hanging clothes in your backyard.”

Mayes was inspired to begin advocacy work with the CCBF after recognizing firsthand the organization’s impact in turning around her life, similarly wanting to help people who have been charged with crimes and may be from primarily Black communities like her. Mayes, who recalls her experience in jail being demoralizing, wanted her advocacy work to shine a light on struggles faced by incarcerated people.

“I just vowed that when I get out of here, I’m going to tell everybody what’s going on, the iron bars, how people are treated, how things are going and everything,” she said.

With a year of the Pretrial Fairness Act now under our belts, state legislators are hoping to improve other parts of the legal system, such as building up Illinois’s public defenders program to provide more robust, meaningful hearings, and make sure people have access to high-quality representation, Slaughter said. He also would like to see more community programs and services for those awaiting trial.

“What we have come to understand is that there are a myriad of different challenges that our individuals and families awaiting trial need, and so the more that we can do to bolster our community-based approach to getting them services, the better [they are] as they await trial,” Slaughter said. “These take on many different forms, whether it’s mental health, whether it’s job or workforce development, housing.”

Peters believes Illinois could adopt a public defender system similar to New Jersey’s statewide court system, which supports smaller counties. He also called on lawmakers to “continue to support and fund the Pretrial Success Act that brings community-based services to every county in the state.”

Toni Preckwinkle echoed the need to push forward legal reform. “We must continue to build a justice system that treats every resident with dignity, no matter their economic status or race,” she said. “The Pretrial Fairness Act is one step along a long, long road. It reflects our belief in a country where justice is truly fair and every resident can live safely and with dignity.”