Illinois lawmakers OK crime bill cleanup, plan ends cash bail
Source: Associated Press
Illinois lawmakers OK crime bill cleanup, plan ends bail
By JOHN O'CONNOR
December 1, 2022
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Democrats who control the Illinois General Assembly approved followup clarifications of their watershed criminal justice overhaul Thursday, appeasing critics by adding numerous offenses to a list of crimes that qualify a defendant to remain jailed while awaiting trial.
Senate action followed by the House came on the final day of the Legislature’s fall session and exactly one month before the Jan. 1 effective date of the so-called SAFE-T Act. The act notably changes one fundamental tenet of state jurisprudence by eliminating the posting of a cash bond — a practice long used to ensure the accused appears at trial, but which critics says penalizes the poor.
The goal of the proposal, which still awaits the expected signature of a supportive Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, is to detain dangerous people while they await trial while not locking up those who pose no threat but sit in jail simply because they can’t afford bail, according to proponents.
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Democrats easily put up the 3/5th majority vote required by the Constitution to make the plan effective immediately while Republicans could only mock them for having to return repeatedly to make corrections or clarifications.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/crime-police-legislature-reform-illinois-37671fcbc86c4ff3aa247965ff61eb6c
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