Pretrial Fairness Act Delayed by Illinois Supreme Court
The Pretrial Fairness Act, a provision of the SAFE-T Act that would eliminate the use of cash bail in Illinois, was halted by an Illinois Supreme Court decision on December 31, 2022.
On December 28, 2022, the Pretrial Fairness Act was ruled unconstitutional by Kankakee County Judge, Thomas W. Cunnington after 65 state’s attorneys and sheriffs in Illinois counties filed a lawsuit claiming that portions of the Pretrial Fairness Act violated the Illinois Crime Victim's Rights Act and the separation of powers between Illinois’ judicial and legislative branches.
The Illinois Supreme Court issued a stay in order to ensure that there are consistent pretrial procedures, rules and protections for people across Illinois. The judge’s ruling in the Kankakee County Circuit Court has been appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
What does this mean?
The Pretrial Fairness Act, which was supposed to take effect starting on January 1, 2023, is now delayed while the Illinois Supreme Court reviews Judge Thomas Cunnington’s ruling and decides the law’s constitutional merit. The claim in the lower court’s ruling is that responsibility for determining the appropriateness of bail should be with the Illinois Supreme Court rather than legislators in the state. Following this decision, counties must keep a cash bail system until the Illinois Supreme Court hears arguments in March of 2023 and rules on the Pretrial Fairness Act. Illinois counties are still subject to the remaining statutes of the SAFE-T Act.
Call to Action
Thank your legislators for protecting the Pretrial Fairness Act.
Read a statement released by the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice.
Read an article published by The Chicago Reporter.
Read CRS blog articles on the Pretrial Fairness Act and SAFE-T Act.
Follow the Coalition to End Money Bond on Twitter and Facebook.
Background on the Pretrial Fairness Act
The recent lawsuit and Illinois Supreme Court decision have not been the only challenges to the Pretrial Fairness Act. Throughout 2022, the implementation of this criminal justice and bail reform bill faced opposition from lawmakers who proposed amendments to this legislation that would cause even greater harm to those in pretrial detention. However, Community Renewal Society member congregations, community leaders, organizations and advocates of the Pretrial Fairness Act stood strong with their activism in support of this bill and protected this provision of the SAFE-T Act.