The end of cash bail will make our criminal justice system more fair
Now is the time for turning. The season has turned to fall. The weather is turning colder. The leaves, in their wisdom, are also beginning to turn.
In the sacred calendar of the Jewish people, which we four authors are celebrating this year together in beloved community, we now turn toward our better selves as we move from Leviticus’ High Holy Day of Rosh Hashana toward the great Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Now is the time to turn our society into a place of tranquility and opportunity for all of God’s children.
Now is not the time to surrender important strides we have made in advancing the cause of justice and peace.
Rolling back the clock and making our state less is precisely what a handful of bad actors are trying to convince us Illinoisans to do. Despite our work to dismantle structural racism, these public personas would have us rebuild the shackles of injustice.
Across the state, right-wing politicians and activists are leading a robust misinformation campaign about a vital criminal justice reform bill that will go into effect in Illinois this January. The Pretrial Fairness Act, part of the larger SAFE-T Act passed in early 2021, is a historic bill that will move the state’s criminal justice system toward equity and accountability. The SAFE-T Act was specifically designed to undo decades of structural racism in our state’s legal system.
As people of faith, we know that everyone — regardless of race or income — deserves access to rights such as housing, education, health care and employment. The same should be true of freedom. However, long-extant systems of bonds and bail hinder economic and racial justice, as only those with the means necessary can buy their freedom. The Pretrial Fairness Act affirms that access to wealth will no longer determine whether someone is jailed while awaiting trial.
This legislation fits perfectly with the themes of the Jewish High Holy Days. The highest holy day within the Jewish tradition, Yom Kippur, calls us to atone for our sins so we can begin the process of reconciliation and renewal in the new year. The Pretrial Fairness Act’s elimination of cash bail is a great first step toward reconciliation by renewing the criminal justice system and restoring the presumption of innocence.
Research demonstrates that pretrial incarceration obstructs
We are tired of politicians and pundits who, instead of implementing needed changes, attack money bond. We know that cash bail has long been a tool used to create intentional barriers that restrict people’s basic rights.
people’s access to jobs, education and other life-giving support systems all while increasing recidivism rates. The purpose of the Pretrial Fairness Act is to transform those systems and make our communities safer. Cash bail and mass incarceration work hand in hand to disproportionately keep Black and brown people — especially Black men — in the system, even if presumed innocent.
Contrary to lies told by politicians such as state Rep. Jim Durkin that the Pretrial Fairness Act will “give drug cartels free rein on Illinois’ streets,” judges will still have the ability to consider whether the accused person is a threat to society or a flight risk. This means that people charged with violent crimes or felonies, such as burglary, domestic violence or crimes involving the use of a gun, can remain detained until trial. Declarations that people who are arrested will simply be let out of jail before trial without any consideration are dog whistles to prevent muchneeded system reforms. Reports continually demonstrate that bail reform leads to an overall decrease in crime rates.
To be perfectly clear: Judges retain the right to keep dangerous criminal suspects jailed before trial. It is incredibly disingenuous for people to argue, in advance of the law’s enactment, that it will be too difficult for judges or is not likely to happen. That’s just fearmongering to win votes. It is up to judges and elected officials to ensure that pretrial incarceration in needed cases happens.
Also, despite many claims to the contrary, this aspect of the SAFE-T Act, which has yet to go into legal effect, cannot be blamed for a rise in any particular type of crime that has occurred in our city or state.
If politicians are truly concerned about protecting the safety of families and communities in Illinois, we invite them to join us in our efforts to eradicate the root causes of violence and end cycles of poverty and oppression in our cities. We invite them to propose vigorous, sustained programs of employment, education and investment for communities’ long-suffering disinvestment. We invite them to join us at St. Sabina Catholic Church the evening of Oct. 18 to learn more about this important legislation that will soon be law.
We are tired of politicians and pundits who, instead of implementing needed changes, attack money bond. We know that cash bail has long been a tool used to create intentional barriers that restrict people’s basic rights. Cycles of poverty, violence and corruption will only persist if we do not grant all people their right to due process. The old bail system cemented the circumstances in which the wealthy are able to buy their way out of jail while others are left behind to languish and get lost in the system. Every human being, regardless of wealth, deserves the right to reconcile their wrongdoings; pretrial incarceration with cash bail does not allow for this most basic equity of freedom.
The Pretrial Fairness Act is the culmination of more than five years of work that includes guidance and input from legal experts, advocates and law enforcement. This legislation is well thought out; the implementation process has already begun in good faith. Misinformation campaigns surrounding the Pretrial Fairness Act and ending cash bail have overpoliticized the bill in an attempt to cover up the unequal application of current incarceration practices. If we are to usher in a society in which all people can live freely with human dignity, we must support policies that center justice and mercy.
In this season of turning, let us not turn back to the economic injustice of cash bail and money bond.