Today, the Illinois Supreme Court issued the strongest possible decision finding the Pretrial Fairness Act constitutional and directing courts across the state to implement the law and end the use of money bond on September 18, 2023. This ruling overturns a decision by a Kankakee County judge that sided with State’s Attorneys who challenged the law’s implementation. The Pretrial Fairness Act was signed into law in February 2021. 

The following statement has been issued by the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice in response to the court’s decision: 

“Today’s ruling in favor of the Pretrial Fairness Act ensures that Illinois will end money bond, one of the most glaring injustices in our criminal legal system. We are excited to work with stakeholders across Illinois to reduce pretrial jailing and build safer communities.

Every year, Illinois incarcerates a quarter million people in its county jails. A majority of those people are jailed only because they cannot afford to pay a money bond. The implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act will make Illinois the first state in the country to remove the price tag from the presumption of innocence. Ending money bond addresses both economic justice and racial justice issues in the pretrial system. In communities across Illinois, Black people have been disproportionately impacted by wealth-based jailing. 

The Pretrial Fairness Act will improve community safety by keeping millions of dollars in our state’s most marginalized communities every year. Studies have shown that even short periods of pretrial jailing make it more likely that someone will be arrested in the future. Giving people the opportunity to stay in their communities while awaiting trial will enable them to keep their jobs, housing and custody of their children, making us all safer. In 2020, Illinois collected more than $120 million in bond money. Ending wealth-based jailing will ensure that families are no longer forced to forego paying rent or to pool funds together to free their loved ones from county jails and will keep desperately needed resources in our communities. 

It is essential that county officials put politics aside and work together to properly implement the law. The court’s majority swept away political arguments and allows  everyone in the state to benefit from ending money bond. From the moment the Pretrial Fairness Act was passed as part of the SAFE-T Act in January 2021, conservatives have used fear-mongering and misinformation to try to derail its success. Since the Act was signed into law, voters stood by the elected officials who passed the bill, legislators worked with law enforcement to make modifications, and now the state’s highest court has upheld it. Continued attempts to sabotage the Pretrial Fairness Act would not only dismiss the will of the people, but also jeopardize community safety.

As Ella Baker once said, “we who believe in freedom cannot rest.” This is a historic juncture in the fight against mass incarceration, but it is far from the end of our work. It is critical that we don’t stop at ending money bond and that realize our  goal of dramatically reducing pretrial incarceration in our state. Ending money bond and reducing pretrial incarceration bring us closer to a future where our communities are safe, our people are supported, our system is fair, and wealth does not determine one’s freedom. On  September 18, 2023, Illinois will take our first step down a long road towards that more just future.