McHenry Times

Illinois State Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) said the pretrial release portion of the SAFE-T Act has been found in violation of the Illinois Constitution, and he believes it is possible to accomplish criminal justice reform without eliminating cash bail.

Illinois Policy reported that just hours before the elimination of cash bail, a provision included in the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act, was set to take effect on Jan. 1, the Illinois Supreme Court ordered a temporary stay so justices can review the appeal made to the lower court. A Kankakee judge found that the pretrial release portion of the bill violates the Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights as well as the separation of powers sections of the Illinois Constitution. The state has appealed that ruling. 

"I am encouraged by the Illinois Supreme Court order staying the end of cash bail. This is a welcome bit of news, as chaos was likely to ensue across the state due to the confusing patchwork of counties that would have had cash bail or not," Ugaste said in a press release. "However, no matter what the outcome of the case, there is a way to accomplish the goals of the advocates of pretrial reform without eliminating cash bail. I have been advocating for it for over two years now. I asked supporters of the SAFE-T Act to work with Republicans on this law to enact reforms that keep the public safe and also take into consideration the rights of the accused. I ask supporters of the SAFE-T Act to consider the rights of all, including those of victims, and keeping the public safe."

The justices said they will undertake an “expedited process” to review the state's appeal, according to Illinois Policy, although no date has been set yet. The rest of the SAFE-T Act has been implemented, although some portions will be phased in, such as police body cameras.

"Because, as the Illinois Supreme Court has determined, the administration of the justice system is an inherent power of the courts upon which the legislature may not infringe and the setting of bail falls within that administrative power, the appropriateness of bail rests with the authority of the court and may not be determined by legislative fiat. Therefore, the court finds that Public Acts 101- 652 and 102-1104 as they relate only to the pretrial release provisions do violate this separation of powers principle underlying our system of governance by depriving the courts of their inherent authority to administer and control their courtrooms and to set bail," Circuit Judge Thomas Cunnington of Kankakee wrote in his ruling.

If the provision goes through, Illinois would be the first state in the country to eliminate cash bail, according to Illinois Policy. The reasoning behind the pretrial release was to avoid lower-income people who can't afford bail being held before trial while people who can afford bail go free. 

“The court system will make a ruling on it through the Supreme Court sometime over the next few months. I’m disappointed that there’s a delay in the implementation; justice shouldn’t be delayed, and we want our neighborhoods to be safer, and putting the pre-trial fairness act into effect will make our neighborhood safer,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said, according to WJBC.