Cashless Bail Now In Effect In Illinois After Legal Challenges, Debate

ILLINOIS — Despite failed legal challenges and questions over its constitutionality, the cashless bail system that is part of the Pre-Trial Fairness Act and SAFE-T Act went into effect on Monday in Illinois.

The system allows judges to determine if a person charged with a crime poses enough of a risk to society in determining whether they are required to post bond as a condition of their release. While many lawmakers are praising the measure, some say that it “stacks the deck” against the victims of crimes and makes communities less safe.

The measure took effect in all of Illinois’ 102 counties as Illinois became the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail. The law was upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court, which voted 5-2 this summer to allow the state to move forward with cashless bail.

Under the cashless bail system, defendants who are not deemed a safety risk or a flight risk will be permitted to be released without paying any bond. The system does not apply to most violent offenders, who, according to the Act, will be held without bond in most cases.

According to the measure, “forcible felonies” include first and second-degree murder, predatory criminal sexual assault, robbery, burglary, residential burglary, aggravated arson, kidnapping, aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm, or any other felony that involves the use or threat of physical violence, the act says.

Hate crimes, attempts of crimes that are considered “detainable” under the act, as well as the torture of animals and DUI causing great bodily harm were added to the list in a subsequent amendment to the legislation.

In a statement issued on Monday, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle called the implementation of cashless bail a “critical milestone” on the path toward racial and socioeconomic justice in the county and state, she said.

“This important reform is long overdue,” Preckwinkle said in the statement. “Today, we finally end the harmful practice of wealth-based pretrial incarceration and welcome a new system that centers community safety to better guarantee equal justice for all.”

Preckwinkle said that the county has made “significant progress” over the past 10 years in addressing pretrial fairness to defendants. She said the population at the Cook County Jail has decreased and that there has been more equity for defendants of color. She added that the Pre-Trial Fairness Act is the next step toward the system becoming fairer.

However, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie said in an issued statement saying cashless bail has decreased the safety being felt in local neighborhoods.

"The end of cash bail means the legal deck is stacked against the victim and community in favor of the criminal,” McCombie said in the statement. “This law makes it more difficult for police officers and prosecutors to keep our communities safe by ensuring offenders in most cases can walk free shortly after committing a heinous offense. Ending cash bail has produced harmful results in other cities and states, and we have no reason to believe Illinois will be any different. We can only hope that innocent victims' lives are not the ultimate price we have to pay."