Jacksonville Police Chief Denies Two Years of Pretrial Fairness Act Implementation Efforts
"It is a big sweeping piece of legislation with no guidance about how implementation works." - Jacksonville Police Chief Adam Mefford
The Briefing
The Administrative Office of Illinois Court established the Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force in 2020. The Task Force included law enforcement, judges, public defenders, and advocates. For two and a half years, the Task Force prepared numerous resources on how counties can implement each element of the law. In 2022 alone, the Task Force held eight public town hall events and six regional educational summits attended by thousands of people.
The Task Force was operational through August 2023 when the Illinois Supreme Court created the Committee on Pretrial Education to provide judges, pretrial officers, and other members of the judicial branch with ongoing education and training.
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