(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Cook County’s public defender says some prosecutors and politicians are spreading misinformation about the state’s new criminal-justice law to score political points.
State law will end cash bail in Illinois on Jan. 1. Some state’s attorneys and other critics say it will prevent them from detaining dangerous suspects before trial.
But Public Defender Sharone Mitchell says that’s not accurate.
Judges can order defendants held without bail if they’re dangerous, a flight risk or if they are habitual offenders, he tells WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
He said the opponents obviously haven’t read the law. The measure is designed to keep low-level non-violent defendants from being jailed just because they’re poor and can’t afford bond.
Mitchell is the guest on “At Issue” this weekend. It airs at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
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