Come Sunday, judges in Chicago and most other parts of the metro area will stop setting cash bail for people accused of crimes, with the decision to jail people ahead of trial depending solely on whether the judge deems them a public threat or flight risk.
But judges in Joliet, Kankakee and dozens of other downstate counties covering more than half the state map could head into the new year with the current system intact, setting dollar amounts that defendants must pay for their pre-trial release.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and the public defender’s office issued a joint statement noting they weren’t party to that lawsuit and thus will proceed with "full implementation of the SAFE-T Act on January 1, 2023 as planned." That was a jab at prosecutors and sheriffs in 64 counties where bail reform is unlikely to take effect this weekend. Their lawsuit argues the bail provision violates the separation of powers outlined in the Illinois Constitution.
Republican leaders applauded that decision but said it creates "potential chaos" with different rules in different areas. The counties unaffected by the suit account for about two-thirds of Illinois’ total population, including Cook, Lake and DuPage. Will, McHenry and Kankakee counties are among the roster of mostly downstate counties that sued to stop the bail reform.Benjamin Ruddell, director of criminal justice reform at the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, called it "good news … that the money bond system in Illinois’ most populous counties ends on January 1, 2023.
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