Take Action to Support the Pretrial Fairness Act

The Pretrial Fairness Act, a provision of the SAFE-T Act passed in 2022, eliminates the use of cash bail in Illinois. The Pretrial Fairness Act was designed to protect an individual’s right to the presumption of innocence and to address racial disparities in our pretrial system. Once implemented on September 18, 2023, the Pretrial Fairness Act will end money bond and take a step toward a more equitable and efficient justice system by reducing the number of people in jail simply because they cannot post bond.

The Pretrial Fairness Act is freedom focused and safeguards people’s individual rights. There are countless benefits of ending money bond through the Pretrial Fairness Act. For example, if people are not detained pretrial because they cannot post bond, they are able to their keep jobs and care for their family at home which helps our communities financially and socially. This also means more laborers in the workforce and less money funneled toward maintaining jails. Continuing on, people will be less pressured by the legal system to take plea deals even when they are innocent, and they will be evaluated on risk rather than their ability to pay for bail resulting in less criminal records overall. If not detained pretrial, people will avoid the terrible conditions in jails and the trauma of incarceration.  

Successful implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act shows communities that organizing works and inspires a more abolitionist future. 

Here are ways you can get involved.

• Register to train as a Community Court Watcher.  

  The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice (of which CRS is a member) needs volunteers to watch pretrial hearings across the state to make certain that new guidelines are followed regarding pretrial incarceration. Participants will receive training on how to record observations from these pretrial hearings. Volunteers must be able to attend one training and take at least two shifts (each lasting between 2-3 hours) observing pretrial hearings in the county they were trained in between Monday and Friday. Trainings will take place virtually but all court watching will happen in-person. 

• Send a letter to your legislators and share the legislator letter tool with your networks.

  Make sure legislators know you support the Pretrial Fairness Act, ask them to stay strong when the next round of attacks surfaces and let them know you have their backs. 

• Sign the Pretrial Fairness Letter to State’s Attorneys

  Let Illinois State’s Attorneys know that you are ready to hold them accountable if they don’t properly implement the Pretrial Fairness Act or continue to spread misinformation. Read the full letter here.

• Let CRS know you want to host a public education event or receive informational guides on community organizing.  

• Learn about the Pretrial Fairness Act and debunk misinformation. 

• Read our blog articles for background on the Pretrial Fairness Act. 

• Follow our Facebook and Instagram for updates and interact with our posts. 

Here is another way you can get involved in making the justice system safer and more equitable.  

• Sign the petition to stop the loss of life in Cook County Jail. 

  Detention under any circumstances can be dangerous. Recent deaths at Cook County Jail call us to advocate for decreasing the prison population. Sign the petition to preserve and protect the lives of those held at Cook County Jail.  

• Drop off supplies or make a donation for people being released from Cook County Jail.

Co-written by the Coalition to End Money Bond and the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice