Chicago’s over-reliance on fees needs reform. Now.
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has created extraordinary financial challenges for both citizens and their local governments. A recent NPR poll found the financial pain caused by COVID-19 to be worse than expected, with half of all Chicago households reporting serious financial problems. The numbers jump to 69% and 63% for Black and Latino households, respectively.
Likewise, cities and counties are confronting unprecedented revenue losses due to the shutdown of large parts of the economy, with hopes of additional federal aid uncertain.
At the same time, the response to the killing of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks has prompted a necessary and long overdue assessment of policing and the criminal justice system. As we contend with systemic racism in our society, we must acknowledge the role of state and local governments in creating and perpetuating it. Any meaningful reform should change how we budget and raise revenue, ensure public safety, and further racial equity.
With these converging factors, now is the right time to rethink local government’s reliance on revenue from fines and imposed fees from the criminal justice system.
Though it might seem counterintui
tive in the face of financial woes, the reality is fines and fees can be penny-wise and pound-foolish for local governments. Not only is the cost of collection often high and the revenue produced low, the downstream effects harm the most vulnerable communities.
A court fee, which is often nothing more than a mere annoyance to a person of means, can have life-altering consequences for those who can least afford them. Unpaid court fees can trap some in a cycle of repeated interactions with the justice system and mounting penalties, including potentially damaged credit and — at least in five states — limitations on voting rights.
Interviews and roundtable discussions with affected community members illustrate just how heavy the burden is. One individual told us that owing fines and fees felt like “invisible handcuffs” while another described her struggle to make ends meet.
“I’m just like any other mother, trying to feed and clothe my children, send them to school, and pay my family’s bills,” she said. “But I have to make decisions about what I can buy them because I’m also trying to pay off my fines and fees.”
Fortunately, the issue of fines and imposed fees is emerging as an important — and feasible — area for reform. Models and recommendations were recently established to help governments nationwide start to initiate reforms and create more ethical and fair policies.
In addition, a study by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy not only offers best practices, but highlights successful efforts in a number of cities and counties, including San Francisco, Alameda, and Los Angeles counties in California. In Ramsey County, Minnesota, comprehensive reforms were passed in April to eliminate nearly a dozen fees levied against people in the local correctional facility and on probation that disproportionately affected low-income families and communities of color.
In Chicago, city leadership made some
strides this summer, joining a national network of cities and counties “pursuing bold solutions to reform unjust fines and fees” and long-awaited reforms to the vehicle impoundment program, which Mayor Lori Lightfoot called an “outdated program that too frequently resulted in thousands of dollars in fines and loss of personal property.”
The concern, however, is that in the search for new revenue to close budget gaps resulting from the pandemic, some local governments will turn to increases in imposed fees, fines, and asset forfeitures from the criminal justice system and other service areas. Local government reliance on criminal justice fees grew during the fiscal crisis resulting from the Great Recession. It is important that history not repeat itself.
City and county officials can and should do more to better understand the implications of imposed fees and fines in the criminal justice system, including their connection to systemic racism, and work to decrease or eliminate those under local control. By adopting clear policies and comprehensive reforms, local governments can remove those invisible handcuffs, providing economic relief while protecting public health to create stronger, more equitable communities.
Sarah Schirmer is a deputy director of PFM’s Center for Justice and Safety Finance and former criminal justice policy adviser to onetime New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Shayne Kavanagh is the senior manager of research for Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), a Chicagobased organization representing public finance officials nationwide.