With a move that drew harsh criticism, Illinois became the first state in the country to do away with cash bail this week.
The Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act, which bans cash bail, was recently found to be legal by the state’s highest court, the Hill reported.
The news source went on:
“Although the state will have the burden of proving if the defendant presents a flight risk or a threat to the community, defendants charged of a certain list of felonies and serious misdemeanors may still be held in custody until their trial.”
“Following the state’s supreme court’s upholding of the statute, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) described cash bail as what it called a ‘penalty on poverty,’ with opponents arguing that it offers affluent individuals preferential treatment since they can afford to “pay to obtain their freedom.”
Breitbart News reported in July that the Illinois Supreme Court had made a ruling that said cash bail would end this week.
The news source said that the move was made despite a rise in crime in the area and fears that people who have been charged with crimes are going to commit additional crimes as they wait for trial.
In 2022, the bill in question was passed and signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker (D). In line with the article, “thousands of people accused of heinous crimes including abduction, burglary, robbery, and second-degree murder will be released from jail.”
“A group of local police departments fought to stop the law from going into action, and a judge ruled that the law was against the Constitution. That decision was taken to the Supreme Court, which overturned it because violent crime is going up in Illinois,” the news source said.
In a post on social media this week, Charlie Kirk, the founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, talked about how Illinois got rid of cash bail.
“Criminals will be free to do whatever they want, and police won’t be able to stop them,” he wrote:
NPR says that the California Supreme Court has ruled that people who cannot pay cash bail will no longer have to do so after 2021.
