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Cash Bail

Illinois’ Elimination Of Cash Bail One Year Later

October 3, 2024 Lisel Petis, Portside. , , ,
A year ago, Illinois made headlines as the first state to eliminate cash bail. Like many, I feared such a sweeping change could compromise public safety. However, the anticipated chaos never materialized — crime rates have dropped. Now, fear should no longer prevent states from taking similar actions. The Pretrial Fairness Act introduced a system that more accurately detains those with genuine risks while allowing low-risk individuals to await trial outside of jail. No cash is required. The goal was to create a system that better balances public safety, accountability and individual liberties. The result? People can no longer buy their way out of pretrial detention.

Illinois Just Ended Cash Bail; Here’s How Organizers Made It Happen

September 19, 2023 Alice Herman, In These Times. , , ,
Illinois is poised to eliminate the use of cash bail in the state’s carceral system following the passage of the Pretrial Fairness Act by the state legislature on January 13. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who has said he favors ending cash bail, is expected to sign the bill into law. The policy of conditional pretrial detention — holding accused people in jail until their trial, unless they can afford to pay bail — is currently practiced in all 50 states, although New Jersey did drastically reduce the use of cash bail. It’s a practice that necessarily penalizes poor people and disproportionately affects Black and Brown people, already overrepresented in U.S. jails and prisons.

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