Across the country, we’re seeing movements achieve historic wins for fairness, racial justice, public health, and public safety. A new law ending cash bail in Illinois. Prosecutors in California, who care more about fairness than punishment. Marijuana legalization in New York that reinvests in communities. Yet prosecutors and police are fighting back with the same polarizing scare tactics that created mass incarceration to perpetuate it. We must demand justice not fear.
The honest truth about bail reform written by criminal justice experts
In a press release, Senator Rezin & Grundy County Sheriff Briley attacked the Pretrial Fairness Act and complained that the law requires prosecutors to hold a detention hearing within 48 hours–which they asserted is not enough time for prosecutors to make an argument against release.
Fact Check: FALSE
The 48-hour requirement existed before the Pretrial Fairness Act, because the Illinois State Constitution requires it.
On October 22, McHenry County State’s Attorney made a number of inaccurate and misleading claims undermining the Pretrial Fairness Act. He falsely claimed that crime, jail populations, and failure to appear warrants dramatically increased under the Pretrial Fairness Act.
Fact Check: FALSE
McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally’s claims about the Pretrial Fairness Act are rife with inaccuracies. For instance, his assertion of a ‘30% increase in crime by individuals on pretrial release’ is misleading. The actual numerical difference is a mere 17 cases, exaggerated through percentages to appear alarming.
Outgoing Cook County Circuit Clerk Iris Martinez falsely claims that three-quarters of people with criminal cases in Cook County are missing court since the Pretrial Fairness Act took effect.
Fact Check: FALSE
This is contradicted by rigorous research from Loyola University showing that failure-to-appear rates have declined slightly under the law, from 13.6% to 12.5%.
In an op-ed published by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Police Superintendent Snelling claimed that the Pretrial Fairness Act prevents judges from detaining people pretrial for the possession of a machine gun.
Fact Check: FALSE
Possession of a machine gun is and always has been a detention-eligible offense under the Pretrial Fairness provisions of the SAFE-T Act, and is detainable under both the safety and willful flight bases.
State Senator Steve McClure claimed that people charged with burglary, child pornography, and DUIs could not be detained pretrial because of the Pretrial Fairness Act.
Fact Check: FALSE
The senators assertions were patently false, which is why the WAND TV reporter eventually removed them from his article. Under the Pretrial Fairness Act, a judge can absolutely detain someone accused of residential burglary or child pornography. The law also made more DUI offenses detention-eligible than before the enactment of the law.
In an interview for KWQC news, Rock Island State’s Attorney Dora Villareal told several untruths about the Pretrial Fairness Act. Among them were misleading statements suggesting that the end of money bond is responsible for too many people being released pretrial, and that she has no authority to detain people charged with crimes like aggravated battery and possession of stolen motor vehicles.
Fact Check: FALSE
State’s Attorney Villareal suggests that 75% of defendants are released pretrial solely because of the Pretrial Fairness Act. But data suggests otherwise. In the 14th Judicial Circuit, which includes Rock Island, 80% of people facing felony charges were in the community awaiting trial prior to implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act. Under the old money bond system, people accused of aggravated battery of a police officer or aggravated battery of a doctor could not be denied pretrial release.
Albany community members sent a strong message to politicians and prosecutors in New York and across the country: Stop fearmongering and lying about bail reform, pretrial freedom, and other justice issues and start supporting solutions, or we’ll oust you.
Fact Check: Bail Reform Works
Soares had long aligned himself with conservative lawmakers and law enforcement unions as he advocated for hyper-carceral policies, but Albany voters saw through Soares’ misinformation and fearmongering. The Albany DA race sends a clear message to politicians and prosecutors: New Yorkers know that bail reform makes our communities safer, and fearmongering around bail reform is a losing political strategy.
A law enforcement-led “Consortium for Safe Communities” claims it wants to “fix bail reform”.
Fact Check: False
But a review of the Consortium’s proposed policy changes clearly demonstrates that what the law enforcement-led organization truly desires is to end bail reform in New York and return to a wealth-based, unfair system where people must buy their own freedom
In the wake of Deputy Musil’s death, the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association claimed that the Pretrial Fairness Act was responsible for the release of Nathan Sweeney, the truck driver accused of crashing into Deputy Musil’s vehicle and killing her.
Fact Check: FALSE
The Pretrial Fairness Act allowed for detention and the Dekalb County State’s Attorney petitioned for it. After hearing arguments from the defense and prosecution, the judge chose to release Mr.Sweeney and was not "forced" by the law to do so.
Law enforcement officials dehumanized a New Yorker in a series of depraved news articles and social media posts about a man arrested multiple times in the city’s transit system.
Fact Check: False, Cruel
Beyond fearmongering and lying about bail reform, the articles and posts prove the point that law enforcement care only about jailing more New Yorkers. NYPD named the wrong judge and wrong DA in its critical posts. Above all, law enforcement’s attacks on the man are cruel and serve to obfuscate NYPD’s own ineptitude and ineffectiveness.
A study on the effects of bail reform concludes, once again, that bail reform does not increase crime. Eliminating the ability of judges to detain someone accused of a crime does not drive crime and may in fact reduce crime.
Fact Check: Bail Reform Works
Due to a mistaken belief about relevant legal standards, the study makes an incorrect conclusion relating to recidivism in people charged with bail eligible crimes.
Following the arrest of a man awaiting trial on electronic monitoring, Sheriff Dart claimed his office was unable to track his whereabouts because of the essential movement provisions of the Pretrial Fairness Act.
Fact Check: FALSE
There is nothing in Illinois law requiring the Sheriff to stop tracking individuals on electronic monitoring.
Amid a national backlash against criminal justice reform, Illinois has achieved something extraordinary. It’s working better than anyone expected.
Ending money bond was not just a legislative action about altering a legal procedure. It was a movement centered on reimagining the principles of fairness and justice within our criminal legal system.
Money bond has been a key driver of racial disparities, with Black and Brown individuals disproportionately incarcerated at staggering rates for minor offenses compared to white individuals. The Pretrial Fairness Act disrupts this pattern, providing much-needed reform.
The biggest concern was that the abolition of cash bail would lead to a rise in crime. The bottom line from the first year of data since the Pretrial Fairness Act was implemented is that such a thing has not happened. In fact, violent crime and property crime are down.
"The biggest concern was that the abolition of cash bail would lead to a rise in crime. The bottom line from the first year of data since the Pretrial Fairness Act was implemented is that such a thing has not happened. In fact, violent crime and property crime are down."
"In the most comprehensive study of the issue to date, Brennan Center researchers found no evidence that bail reform affects crime rates."
"The Pretrial Fairness Act is just one component in building a more equitable and compassionate criminal justice system that prioritizes safety, rehabilitation and community well-being."
"In Cook County, the jail population has decreased by about 13%, comparing snapshot days in September and April, according to county data."
“'There’s a sense in the courtroom that taking money out of the equation has leveled the playing field,”' Cook County Judge Charles Beach said.
"For nearly three years, critics who railed against the abolishment predicted the state would suffer a dramatic spike in violent crime incidents or would see a string of repeat offenders roaming free. However, a variety of experts in the criminal justice fields—police, prosecutors, and public defenders alike—say so far, the opposite has happened."
"The number of people incarcerated at Cook County Jail has dropped to a near-all-time low since the statewide abolition of cash bail took effect in September. But despite the success in the Chicago area, the state has still failed to comply with key transparency and accountability portions of the Pretrial Fairness Act intended to ensure judges apply the bond reform law fairly across Illinois."
"The Cook County Jail population has dipped below 5,000 for only the second time in nearly four decades, a drop experts are linking to Illinois’ historic elimination of cash bail on Sept. 18."
