|
The state’s Pretrial Fairness Act is the first in the nation to
end money bond statewide. Advocates say people are innocent
until proven guilty and shouldn’t have to languish behind bars
pending trial because they can’t afford to bail out.
State Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, said the end of cash
bail will hurt victims of crimes.
“It’s absolutely not fair to the victims of crime,” Bryant said.
“From restitution payments to victims services, bonds and fees
often contribute to vital services to help victims recover from
their trauma.”
ACLU of Illinois’ Ben Ruddell said nothing in the Pretrial
Fairness Act takes away the responsibility of someone convicted
of a crime to pay restitution that’s been ordered by a court.
“We don't take it out of their pocket on the front end, though,
when they’ve been just accused of a crime,” Ruddell said. “We
wait until they’ve been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,
which is how it ought to work.”
First-time criminal defendants facing lower-level non-violent
criminal charges will be processed and released from jail. Those
facing more serious charges could be held pretrial without money
bond.
Ruddell foresees one problem that could arise as the law gets
implemented statewide being the availability of public
defenders.
“That’s an ongoing issue irrespective of the Pretrial Fairness
Act,” Ruddell said. “That’s a thing that this state needs to
tackle, but if you ask me where I see the most potential for
issues, it’s there.”
While Democrats overwhelmingly supported the measure in the
state Legislature, Republicans opposed. Bryant said the minority
party will continue to push for reforms.
“To me and many of the people we represent, defunding our
courts, limiting victims services and making law abiding
citizens pay for criminals bail with their taxes is just not
justice,” Bryant said.
The measure was supposed to go into effect Jan. 1, but was
delayed because of court challenges until two months ago the
measure was upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court.
|
|
