Illinois officially became the first state in the country Monday to officially eliminate the pre-trial practice of requiring that some criminal defendants pay a set cash amount in order to secure their release from custody ahead of trial.
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Illinois on Monday will become the first state to fully abolish cash bail through an act of the legislature — a major criminal justice overhaul spurred by the advocacy of a progressive faction of the Democratic Party that’s grown increasingly powerful in recent years.
The long-anticipated elimination of cash bail officially takes effect in Illinois Monday, following extensive delays, legal challenges and pushback from critics who sought to keep the existing system in place.
In a 5-2 ruling, with Republican justices dissenting, the state's highest court found that the elimination of cash bail is constitutional and will take effect statewide beginning Sept. 18, overturning a lower court ruling that had put that implementation on hold and handing Gov. J.B. Pritzker a major victory.
When the Pretrial Fairness Act, a section of the Illinois SAFE-T Act, goes into effect Jan. 1, those charged in criminal cases in dozens of counties across Illinois will no longer have to pay any cash in order to be released from jail while they wait for their trial.
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