Last night, the Illinois legislature passed a budget which includes continued funding for the Pretrial Success Grant Program! State funding withheld by the Trump administration created a budget crisis in Illinois which put this important program in jeopardy. Thanks to people from across Illinois who spoke out in support of saving this program, funds to expand access to vital services such as mental health and substance use disorder support, transportation, and child care for people awaiting trial will be distributed to community based groups across the state later this year. We look forward to working alongside the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) to ensure a successful roll out of the Pretrial Success Grant Program this year!

Throughout the last year, the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice worked with IDHS to prepare for implementation. We have worked to assess where service gaps can be addressed through collaborative partnerships and to identify providers who can deliver essential pretrial supports. We also worked to ensure that local advisory councils are established as called for by the Success Act. For too long, money bond extracted wealth from communities while stripping legally innocent individuals of their autonomy. The Pretrial Success Grant Program prioritizes input from individuals directly impacted by the criminal legal system and their communities in determining how funds should be invested locally.

The Pretrial Success Grant Program builds upon the Pretrial Fairness Act by ensuring that people returning to the community can access voluntary services and address the underlying challenges that may have brought people released pretrial into contact with law enforcement. The Pretrial Success Act will help communities most impacted by money bond heal by prioritizing them for investment and increasing access to these essential services.