The Coalition to End Money Bond is proud to support HB 2689, the Pretrial Data Act. This bill calls for the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority to collect and publish key data about bond hearings and jail populations from local county officials and to make that data public. Local and state policymakers, as well as advocates for change, need this data to measure pretrial justice reforms and work toward better outcomes for individuals, communities, and court systems.

Next to the decision of innocence and guilt, there is no decision in a criminal case more important than what kind of bond someone receives. During bond hearings, judges decide whether an individual will remain in jail pending trial or be released with conditions such as paying a money bond or being on electronic monitoring. The judge’s decision not only impacts a legally innocent person’s freedom, but also the entire court system and the budget of the county paying for the jail. Currently, there is no statewide system to collect data on bond outcomes or jail admissions in Illinois.

On Tuesday, April 30th, the Illinois House of Representatives Judiciary-Criminal Committee is hosting a subject matter hearing on bail reform. During the hearing, advocates will call for statewide pretrial data collection in addition to substantive reforms. JOIN US by filing a witness slip in support of reform before 12pm (noon) on Tuesday, April 30, 2019! The link and instructions are below.

To file a witness slip:

1. Go to this link: http://my.ilga.gov/WitnessSlip/Create?committeeHearingId=17063&legislationId=0&legislationdocumentid=0

2. Fill out the form with your information. Note that most fields are mandatory. If you do not officially represent a firm or organization, please write “SELF.”

3. For proposition, please click “PROPONENT.”

4. For testimony – if you are just filing a slip, choose “record of appearance only.”

5. To submit the created slip, accept the terms and click the button “create slip.”

Thank you!

video by Danbee Kim (www.danbeekim.com)