In September, Illinois successfully ended money bond with the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act. Since then, the number of people incarcerated in Cook County Jail and on house arrest with electronic monitoring has decreased but more work remains to be done.

Today, Cook County members of the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice sent a letter to the Cook County Board of Commissioners calling on them to act upon the recommendations included in the Electronic Monitoring Review commissioned by the Cook County Justice Advisory Council in 2020. This budget season presents yet another opportunity to act on these recommendations by reducing the use of electronic monitoring and consolidating the county’s two electronic monitoring programs under the Office of the Chief Judge.

Our Network introduced the Principles for Respecting the Rights of Individuals on Pretrial Electronic Monitoring in Cook County last September. These principles have been endorsed by 58 organizations and 23 public officials and agencies, including six Cook County Commissioners. The principles lay out a roadmap for respecting people’s rights while working to end the use of this harmful technology. Our current reality does not yet align with the principles named above. The $35 million spent on Cook County’s two pretrial electronic monitoring programs annually is of particular concern because there is no evidence showing that this technology improves community safety. As noted in the County-commissioned Electronic Monitoring Review, consolidation of services under one agency could produce greater consistency, efficiency, and savings. 

Cook County has long led the nation in pretrial reform. By addressing the harms caused by electronic monitoring, we can continue to show the country a pathway out of our state of mass incarceration. We urge you to take action this budget season to reduce the use of pretrial electronic monitoring and consolidate the electronic monitoring programs in Cook County.