Illinois Becomes 1st State In America To End Cash Bail: 5 Things To Know

In a groundbreaking move, Illinois became the first state in the U.S. to abolish cash bail by implementing the Pretrial Fairness Act, a part of the broader SAFE-T Act. In January 2021, the Illinois legislature passed the Pretrial Fairness Act with the law slated to go in place September 2023. The Act ends the use of money bond as a means for release and will potentially keep people from being incarcerated while awaiting trial. The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act, commonly known as the SAFE-T Act, is a state of Illinois statute enacted in 2021 that makes a number of reforms to the criminal justice system, affecting policing, pretrial detention and bail, sentencing, and corrections. This monumental shift is set to reshape the criminal justice system; here are five things to know. Chicago, cash bail is eliminated and a lot of people are going to be upset that a lot of Black men won't be jailed — with a price — as they wait on their due process.I'm just letting you know what energy you may get from others today.— Charles Preston (@_CharlesPreston) September 18, 2023 1. About the no-bail act The Pretrial Fairness Act, embedded within the SAFE-T...