(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Tuesday’s Illinois Supreme Court ruling to uphold the no-bail provisions of the Safe-T Act was hailed by supporters as a big step toward reforming part of the criminal justice system.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle called the ruling a transformative moment.
“The use of money bond has perpetuated systemic racial injustice and exacerbated the inequities faced by communities of color,” Preckwinkle said.
Preckwinkle and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx spoke during a virtual press conference, where it was noted by several people that Illinois is the first state in the country to enact such legislation.
“Illinois becoming the first state in the nation to ensure that money is not the determinant of one’s risk to community is one for which we should be proud,” Foxx said.
Not everyone in Illinois was happy about the high court’s ruling, though.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally wrote that his office was “disheartened and shocked by the Illinois Supreme Court’s Decision.”
“No doubt, the implementation of the Safe-T Act will make the job of prosecutors, judges and police more difficult,” Kenneally wrote. “That said, we have no choice other than to accept the decision and move on.”
DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin, who opposed the original Safe-T Act, was among three state’s attorneys chosen by Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) to help amend the act. Berlin said he was proud of the improvements advanced by the group.
“These amendments go a long way in rectifying many, but not all, of the anticipated problems and restore some measure of judicial discretion at bond hearings,” he said.
Supporters claimed moving away from cash bond will still allow judges to make decisions about who must stay in jail before trial — those decisions, they added, will be based on the potential for risk or harm, rather than wealth.
“This means that the decision on who goes to jail — or who doesn’t — will no longer rely on how much money your mother has, or your partner has, or your grandmother has, or your church has, or you have,” said Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell. “This will literally return tens of millions of dollars to communities who need it most.”
Kaethe Morris Hoffer, who heads the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, said the law advances public safety by giving victims a voice in pretrial hearings.
“People who have endured sexual harm, it improves their ability to speak and be heard by the criminal legal system,” Hoffer said.
Nonetheless, the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police said the decision to uphold the act “confirms Illinois’ status as a state of lawlessness and disorder.”
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