The Illinois Supreme Court announced they will abolish cash bail on Monday in accordance with the Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act, becoming the first state to officially end the practice.
The PFA also establishes new processes for pretrial release and places the burden on the government to prove that someone should be detained.
According to the ACLU, the Court’s decision “improves public safety by allowing people to return to their communities and families who would otherwise be in jail only because they can’t pay for their freedom.”
Historically, Illinois has a history of pretrial reform initiatives, beginning with the abolishment of commercial bail bonds in 1963.
According to a press release from the Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday, they took “significant steps to prepare the Judicial Branch for pretrial reform … (beginning) with the formation of the Commission on Pretrial Practices in 2017.”
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The Commission worked for two years to identify the best practices used in pretrial reform, consulting a wide variety of sources including all three branches of Illinois government and criminal justice partners.
The Commission’s report led to the creation of a task force that educated the public and stakeholders on the PFA, which passed in the Illinois legislature in early 2022.
“By ending the money bond, Illinois is not only creating a fairer pretrial justice system, we are striking a massive blow to the racist prison industrial complex,” advocacy group Pretrial Fairness said.
