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The Pretrial Fairness Act that ends cash bail statewide was
supposed to be enacted on Jan. 1, but a Kankakee County judge
found the law unconstitutional. The Illinois Supreme Court
suspended implementation pending appeal. The case was heard last
month and justices are taking the issue under advisement.
During a Thursday Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, state
Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, asked Administrative Office of the
Illinois Courts Director Marcia Meis how much it would cost
taxpayers if implemented. She said looking at New Jersey is
instructive.
“There was a tremendous uptick in appeals, so obviously you're
going to have more people to handle those appeals if that
happens here,” Meis said. “There are also factors at the trial
court level. Unknowable. How aggressive is your state’s
attorney? How does your public defender approach the cases?”
Rose further asked if the courts would have to come back to
taxpayers for more money.
“If it does go into effect, should we anticipate as
appropriators, that you’ll be back with a supplemental at some
point in time in ‘24,” Rose asked.
“My simple answer is maybe,” Meis said.
Court officials are requesting $23 million to provide pretrial
services statewide, but that is from a 1987 law creating such
services.
Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, said regardless of the outcome of
the law he helped pass, the state is standing up pretrial
services statewide.
“There was a plan to move to this statewide pretrial services
system prior to the passage of the SAFE-T Act and one of the
recommendations of that commission was to do what we are doing
right now,” Sims said.
The courts are asking to add 71 employees to offer pretrial
services like electronic monitoring and drug testing to counties
that need assistance with such services.
A ruling from the Illinois Supreme Court on the
constitutionality of the Pretrial Fairness Act could be issued
in the weeks ahead.
Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and
other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of
award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning
Newsfeed out of Springfield.
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