Pretrial Fairness Act marks first year this week

One year after the Pretrial Fairness Act took effect, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart, seen here during a June 2024 news conference outside the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, hailed cashless bail as a success.
AP

One year after Illinois eliminated cash bail as part of the Pretrial Fairness Act, proponents are hailing its success, insisting the criminal justice reform measure accomplished its goal of making communities safer and the system more equitable.

However, critics remain. They say the law has led to more people in custody and overwhelmed the judicial system with additional court proceedings.

Supporters include Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart, who said cashless bail has not resulted in the release of accused murderers and rapists, as opponents predicted.

“We are holding more sex offenders and all murderers under the new system,” Rinehart said, adding “crime is down in Lake County at a steeper rate of decline than the national average.”

People are “safer in a system that prevents drug dealers, gang members, murderers, wealthy sex offenders and rich domestic batterers from using their cash to avoid jail,” he said.

Among the cases backers could cite is that of DuPage County neurologist Dr. Abdussalam Choudry, who was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery and interfering with a report of domestic battery.

Authorities say Choudry punched, hit and kicked the accuser, and threatened to cut her up and set her on fire.

Previously, defendants in such misdemeanor cases were released after posting as little as $100 bond. But DuPage County Judge Joshua Dieden ordered Choudry detained, citing “homicidal ideation” and finding there were no conditions guaranteeing the woman’s safety.

Some remain unconvinced of cashless bail’s merit. Describing the law as “failed and flawed,” Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain says it put more people into custody and strained the court system by increasing caseloads.

Initially a critic, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin pushed for modifications to cashless bail provisions before the law took effect. As far as violent crime is concerned, the new system is working well, he said.

“Almost all our petitions in violent cases have been granted,” said Berlin, adding the law needs further tweaking.

Referring to changes made after the legislation first passed, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser deemed the new system mostly a success.

“People who should be held are being held because they can’t pay to get out,” she said.

Cook County Public Defender Sharone R. Mitchell Jr. described cashless bail, implemented last year as part of the Pretrial Fairness Act, as “a significant success.”
Courtesy of Cook County

Cook County Public Defender Sharone R. Mitchell Jr. agrees.

“For the first time, the decision about whether to jail someone who is presumed innocent is being made intentionally instead of letting their access to wealth decide,” Mitchell said. “People who are merely accused are entitled to robust, individualized hearings before being jailed. That is what we would all want if we were accused, and it is what we are now doing.”

Safer communities?

Violent crime — including shootings, murders, sexual assault, home invasion, armed violence and armed robberies — have decreased significantly in the wake of bail reform, according to Rinehart.

Before the Pretrial Fairness Act, three out of 10 people charged with child pornography in Lake County were held in custody, Rinehart said. Today, 100% of those Lake County defendants are jailed, he said.

Mosser recalls a serial domestic abuser who got released on bond and influenced his wife not to testify against him, forcing prosecutors to drop the case. Under the new system, a judge granted prosecutors’ petition to detain. Prosecutors worked to “stabilize” the wife’s situation. She agreed to testify against him and he ultimately pleaded guilty, said Mosser.

Lake County’s first case under the new system involved defendant Richard Sasin, who previously posted 10% of $350,000 bail after being accused of battering a peace officer and violating an order of protection, Rinehart said.

After posting the cash, Sasin was charged with committing a residential burglary in September 2023. He then was ordered held while his cases were pending.

“Because of the SAFE-T Act, the judge could and did hold him in jail,” Rinehart noted.

Some critics feared defendants released without having to post any cash might not return for court proceedings. That has not been the case, said Mitchell, citing Circuit Court of Cook County data showing 88% of defendants released under the new system showed up for court.

That’s an improvement from three years ago, when about 80.4% of those charged with felonies and released on bond attended their scheduled court hearings, according to a report from the Civic Federation.

The Office of Statewide Pretrial Services reports similar results. According to the OSPS, in the 78 downstate Illinois counties it serves, judges issued warrants when defendants failed to appear in court in only 5% of cases, Rinehart said, citing a June report.

Changing minds

Challenges remain. One involves changing some judges’ “decades-old mindset that a cash system is somehow safer,” said Rinehart.

“But a cash system allows release,” he said. “With this new detention system, we have certainty: an offender remains detained until further order of the judge.”

Funding also poses a challenge. Both Rinehart and Mitchell say they need more money for attorneys and support personnel to conduct detention hearings.

“Accused people have had a right to a public defender at initial appearances (formerly bond hearings) since 2018, but that wasn’t happening in every county until the Pretrial Fairness Act went into effect,” Mitchell said. “Even now, there is not enough state support for public defenders who do these hearings.”

Berlin believes the law needs to be changed to give judges discretion to detain defendants charged with burglary, organized retail crime and retail theft.

He cites the cases of Renaeshia McDowell, 31 and Shania Jacobs, 28, both of Chicago. They were charged with burglary and retail theft after authorities said they stole $499.98 in merchandise Aug. 9 from JCPenney at the Yorktown Shopping Center, Berlin said.

Released with conditions, they were charged 20 days later with taking $1,168 in merchandise from an Ulta Beauty store.

“Because burglary and retail theft are not detainable unless the defendant is a willful risk of flight, the judge was required to release the defendants with conditions on the new charges,” Berlin said. “To me, that doesn’t make sense.”

Mosser agrees it’s difficult when repeat offenders are charged with non-detainable offenses such as criminal trespassing.

“Law enforcement has to deal with them (over and over),” she said.

She also called for changes, noting detention is not possible for a person charged for the first time with aggravated battery to a peace officer.

“We have to wait until it’s two officers (a second incident),” Mosser said. “That should not happen.”

Public defender Mitchell expressed concern for his clients, in particular homeless defendants and those with substance abuse problems. He said prosecutors can request revocation of their pretrial release if they are rearrested and are still using drugs or have nowhere to live.

“In those cases, there is no allegation that the person presents a safety threat or risk of willful flight, but some judges are granting these petitions anyway,” he said. “That misuses the power to revoke pretrial release and turns it into a punishment, and it also coerces people into pleading (guilty).”