CHICAGO (CBS) — The Illinois Supreme Court has upheld a state law ending cash bail across the state, giving courts two more months before they must implement the change.
The state’s highest court overturned a ruling by a Kankakee County judge that the law ending cash bail was unconstitutional. The end to cash bail will now go into effect across the entire state on Sept. 18, according to the Illinois Supreme Court ruling.
"The Illinois Constitution of 1970 does not mandate that monetary bail is the only means to ensure criminal defendants appear for trials or the only means to protect the public. Our constitution creates a balance between the individual rights of defendants and the individual rights of crime victims. The Act’s pretrial release provisions set forth procedures commensurate with that balance," Justice Mary Jane Theis wrote in the ruling Tuesday morning.
A provision of the criminal justice reform law known as the SAFE-T Act was supposed to eliminate the use of cash bail across the state on Jan. 1, meaning judges could no longer require people charged with a crime to pay a specific amount of money to leave jail while they awaited trial. Instead, judges would only have been allowed to keep someone in jail if they deemed them a threat to public safety, or likely to flee the jurisdiction.
But the state’s highest court put that provision of the SAFE-T Act on hold after prosecutors in 64 counties filed lawsuits claiming the law was unconstitutional, and a Kankakee County judge ruled in their favor.
The ruling by 21st Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Thomas Cunnington in late December found that the pretrial release portions of the SAFE-T Act violate the separation of powers clause of the Illinois Constitution, and would not take effect in 65 counties that had sued to block the abolishment of cash bail. Other provisions of the law, including body camera requirements for police departments, and new police training mandates, went into effect as planned on Jan. 1.
After the state appealed that ruling, the Illinois Supreme Court put the end to cash bail on hold statewide, to ensure consistent bail practices throughout the state while they considered the law’s constitutionality.
The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments from both supporters and opponents in March before announcing its ruling on Tuesday.
Critics of the current cash bail system say it unfairly punishes poor defendants, often forcing them to spend months or years in jail before they go on trial, even if they are not a danger to the public.
During oral arguments in March, Illinois Deputy Solicitor General Alex Hemmer argued on behalf of the state, saying the bail clause in the Illinois Constitution grants defendants the right to seek pretrial release – while not requiring the state to maintain monetary bail or any other kind of rules governing how pretrial release is carried out.
Hemmer also argued the Illinois General Assembly has the right to regulate pretrial procedures – and are not constrained by the state Constitution from doing so.
But numerous county state’s attorneys spoke against the SAFE-T Act. Kankakee State’s Attorney Jim Rowe said matters of bail reform belong on the ballot for a vote of the people – as already happened in New Jersey and New Mexico.
He said the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation that conflicts with the Constitution – which would require a popular vote on a matter such as abolition of cash bail.
"They literally tried to drive the reform by following 764 pages of directions at 4 a.m., in the middle of the night, in the dark, with an hour to get there," he said.
Special Assistant State’s Attorney Alan Spellberg, representing Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, also argued that the pretrial release provisions of the SAFE-T Act "unduly interfere with the judiciary’s authority to set bail."
However, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that "the legislature has long regulated the bail system."
Specifically, the justices pointed to changes in state law in 1963 regulating the criminal justice system, setting out standards for courts to determine how and when defendants can be kept in custody or released ahead of trial.
"The plaintiffs (or their predecessors in office) never faulted the legislature’s earlier forays into this area. Presumably, they found those amendments palatable. However, the substance of the amendment is irrelevant. If the legislature could reconsider bail over the course of so many years, it could do so again in 2021 without offending separation of powers principles," Theis wrote.
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July 18, 2023 at 09:15AM
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