Every year, more than a quarter of a million people are incarcerated pretrial in jails across Illinois. Most of these people are incarcerated simply because they can’t afford to pay a money bond. Pretrial incarceration can cause a person to lose their job, housing or even custody, all of this can occur without even being convicted of a crime. 

That is why the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice is paying bail to bring people home to their communities this holiday season. The holidays and are a time for our us to pause and celebrate with our communities. The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice is proud to come together with organizers around the state to reunite people incarcerated pretrial with their communities this holiday season. 

“Across Illinois, in communities big and small, people who haven’t been convicted of a crime are locked up in county jails only because they can’t afford to pay a money bond. Wealth-based pretrial incarceration disproportionately impacts Black people. If we really believe that Black lives matter, we must end money bail. That’s why BLM BloNo is participating in the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice Holiday Bailout,” said Olivia Butts of Black Lives Matter-Bloomington Normal.

The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice Holiday Bailout has paid $69,310 to free 15 people from county jails in Champaign, Coles, Cook, DuPage, McLean, and Winnebago counties.

“These people would have spent months in jail before having the opportunity to prove their innocence. The money bail system treats people as if they’re guilty until they can prove their innocence. Thanks to this community effort, the people bailed out will be able to await their day in court from a place of freedom with the support of their friends and family,” said Chama St. Louis of Black Justice Project in Peoria.

“In the past, we’ve heard Illinois elected officials say that money bail is just a Cook County problem, but this effort has helped shine a light on the fact that this simply is not true. The time for statewide bail reform is now,” said Sharlyn Grace of Chicago Community Bond Fund.

In 2020, The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice and the Coalition to End Money Bond will be supporting the Pretrial Fairness Act, a bill that ends money bond completely and makes other common-sense reforms to the pretrial justice system. The bill is sponsored by Representative Justin Slaughter and Senator Robert Peters.

“Across Illinois, communities are being torn apart by wealth-based pretrial incarceration. We have the power to stop this injustice. That’s why I’m working with the Coalition to End Money Bond and the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice to pass the Pretrial Fairness Act in 2020. Let’s end money bond and bring people home to their families and communities,” said Illinois State Representative Justin Slaughter. 

This New Year, we hope you will join us in ending money bail. Let’s bring our people home in 2020!