Every year, a quarter of a million people cycle through Illinois’ jails. Most of them are incarcerated not because they pose a threat to their community, but because they can not afford to pay a money bail. This unjust practice is coming to an end.
In January 2021, the Illinois legislature passed the Pretrial Fairness Act. This historic legislation restores the presumption of innocence and makes Illinois safer by ending money bond and the unconstitutional practice of caging people pretrial simply because they cannot afford to buy their freedom. The law will go into effect in 2023.
We must protect these crucial reforms from attacks rooted in racism and fear, which seek to perpetuate the system of mass incarceration.
The Pretrial Fairness Act was written by advocates and organizers in the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice and the Coalition to End Money Bond. It was championed in Springfield by Senators Elgie Sims and Robert Peters and Representative Justin Slaughter and supported by thousands of people and more than 100 organizations, including victims' rights advocates.
More than 150 faith leaders signed an open letter calling on state legislators to defend pretrial justice reforms and oppose policies promoting mass incarceration.
The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice released “From Policy to Progress: A Roadmap for Successful Implementation of the PFA”, a report with recommendations for the policy's implementation.
By ending money bond, Illinois is not only creating a fairer pretrial justice system, we are striking a massive blow to the racist prison industrial complex. Wealth-based pretrial jailing has coerced many people in Black, Brown, and poor communities into accepting plea deals they may not have taken if the court system had respected their right to be free awaiting trial. Incarceration destabilizes people’s lives, often causing them to lose jobs, housing, and even custody of their children, ultimately making it harder for people to rebuild their lives after their release from jail.
Over time, the changes made by the Pretrial Fairness Act will not only reduce the number of people caged in county jails but also the number of people in Illinois state prisons.
LEARN HOW THE PRETRIAL FAIRNESS ACT IS TRANSFORMING OUR LEGAL SYSTEM:
Incarceration has never been an effective public safety strategy; it disrupts people’s lives in ways that destabilize families and communities and make us less safe. Limiting pretrial incarceration allows people to maintain relationships, jobs, and stability in their lives while awaiting trial—and our communities will be safer as a result.
Illinois incarcerates a quarter of a million people every year in county jails.
People incarcerated for as little as 72 hours are 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed one year later
No state or city has seen a rise in crime as a result of reducing or eliminating their use of money bail.
Illinois incarcerates a quarter of a million people every year in county jails.
People incarcerated for as little as 72 hours are 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed one year later
No state or city has seen a rise in crime as a result of reducing or eliminating their use of money bail.
That's why major crime survivor groups support ending cash bail. Leaders from the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation and The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence wrote a compelling defense of the Pretrial Fairness Act:
"The protections for survivors in the bill are a step toward a better system for all. People with low incomes will no longer be locked up simply because they can’t pay bail.
People won’t be incarcerated pre-trial because of racist and classist stereotypes that perpetuate fear against Black men, in particular. Survivors will be able to advocate for what they need to feel safe and secure."
"A substantial step toward dismantling the systemic racism that plagues our communities, our state and our nation, and brings us closer to true safety, true fairness and true justice."