Pretrial Fairness Act to do away with bail in Illinois

ILLINOIS, (WAND)- Illinois leaders are hoping to entirely flip the criminal justice system with the Safe-T Act. One of the biggest changes is getting rid of bail in the state.

Starting January 1st, judges will determine a person's bond based on their danger to the public and flight risk. But there will be no money required for any suspect to be released from jail before their trial.

About 250,000 people are jailed each year in Illinois, and typically 90% are held in custody before their trial even begins.

"People are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. But our current system turns that on its head and allows the state to incarcerate people presumptively based on their access to wealth," Ben Ruddell, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Illinois told WAND News.

Right now, suspects are let out of jail- until their trial- if they pay 10% of a bond set by a judge, and agree to bail conditions.

Starting next year, only public safety and a person's flight risk will be considered.

"If the judge determines that there would be a danger to somebody else by releasing that person- than no amount of money would be sufficient to let them out of jail," Ruddell explained.

The ACLU and other advocates said the Pretrial Fairness Act will cut down on the damage done to innocent people who are locked up before a judge can hear their case.

"If you lose your job, if you lose your kids, if you lose your home, if your life falls apart, if you have a medical emergency because you're not getting your prescription medications while you're in a jail- there's no undoing that," Ruddell added.

But Republican lawmakers said the change could have dangerous consequences.

"I think this whole Safe-T Act does not make Illinois safer," Republican State Senator Salley Turner told WAND News.

Senator Turner said police and states attorneys are worried there aren't clear guidelines for how the new system will work.

"They are also are concerned that they haven't been a part or a player in coming up with proper rules and regulations and how this is all going to play out," Senator Turner explained.

She wants to ensure Illinoisans are protected from dangerous suspects who could be eligible for release under the new system.

SHE WANTS TO ENSURE ILLINOISANS ARE PROTECTED FROM DANGEROUS

"It probably needs to be scrapped and start over again," Senator Turner said.

The Pre-trial Fairness Act goes into effect January 1st.