The elimination of cash bail in Illinois has not caused an increase in crime or criminal defendants skipping town to avoid legal consequences in its first year.
Those are the findings of a report released Tuesday by Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Criminal Justice. The report, which features a mix of data from counties statewide, shows the much-debated Pretrial Fairness Act — a key component of the SAFE-T Act — hasn’t led to the negative outcomes many feared when it was a contentious talking point in the run-up to the 2022 elections.
In fact, the report finds — with some important caveats — that both crime and court-skipping have declined in the past year.
“This isn’t any kind of definitive word on the law and its impact,” noted Professor David Olson, who co-directs the center that is in the first stages of a four-year study of the PFA’s impact. “These (findings) certainly could change and evolve.”
Among the key findings: Despite defendants no longer having a financial incentive to show up in court when required, the large majority are doing it anyway. According to data from 21 counties, defendants failed to appear for 22.8% of cases since the change began Sept. 18, 2023, down from 25.1% the previous 12 months.
However, the study notes, the numbers tick up slightly when you consider only felony offenses that are now non-detainable, from 28.1% to 31%.
“From our standpoint, the changes (in failures to appear) are minimal,” Olson said.
David Olson
Courtesy of Loyola University Chicago, photo by Natalie Battaglia
As for crime, the study authors compared data from the first six months of 2023, when cash bail still existed, to the first six months of 2024. They found reported crimes dipped 11% overall. Violent crimes were down 7%, and property crime declined 14%.
However, the authors note that crime is down everywhere and it’s possible it could be down even more in Illinois with the money bail system still in place.
“Some advocates may make the argument that crime is down (because of the Pretrial Fairness Act), but we’re not at that point,” Olson said. “But we did put that out there to allay the rhetoric that this would cause crime to go through the roof.”
Other findings
· The majority of those ordered held since last September — 53% — have been defendants accused of domestic violence. That’s not a surprise, since it’s the most common of the offenses made detainable under in the Pretrial Fairness Act, Olson said.
· Significantly more defendants are under pretrial supervision while awaiting trial. In 44 counties where data was collected, 2,160 defendants were on supervision on Aug. 30, 2023. That figure was up to 3,725 on June 30, 2024, a 72% hike. On the flip side, the use of electronic monitoring in Cook County is down, from 1,870 defendants on Sept. 20, 2023, to 1,479 as of last Sunday.
· Jail populations have fallen since cash bail’s elimination — including by 14% in Cook and the collar counties, and 25% in rural counties.
Chart shows jail populations one year after elimination of cash bail in Illinois.
Courtesy of Loyola University Chicago Center for Criminal Justice
· Fewer people are being detained while awaiting trial, which is a primary goal of the change. Before the Pretrial Fairness Act, about 33% of all criminal defendants and 61% in detainable offenses were still locked up three days after their arrest. Those figures are now 9% and 33%, respectively, the study found.
To read the full report, visit https://pfa-1yr.loyolaccj.org/.
Historical find
A remarkable piece of Illinois’ legal history is now in the hands of state preservationists, thanks to the sharp eye of a suburban attorney.
Russell McWilliams, left, with attorney Clarence Darrow
Courtesy of the Illinois Supreme Court Preservation Commission
The Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission recently received a 26-page typed transcription of famed lawyer Clarence Darrow’s passionate argument in 1933 to save 17-year-old Russell McWilliams from the electric chair, officials announced.
McWilliams, who fatally shot a Rockford streetcar conductor during a 1931 robbery, narrowly escaped becoming the only minor to be executed in Illinois. The case ignited a nationwide debate about executing juvenile offenders.
Attorney Peter F. Carroll of Woodstock found the transcript while examining a box of news clippings he’d inherited from his grandfather, former Winnebago County Judge William M. Carroll.
“It’s a remarkable oration from one of the greatest trial attorneys of the early 20th century,” Carroll said in this week’s announcement.
While quotes from Darrow’s argument had appeared in newspapers at the time, a full transcript hadn’t emerged until now, according to state officials.
Three days before the scheduled execution in 1933, Gov. Henry Horner — at Darrow’s urging — commuted McWilliams’ death sentence to 99 years in prison. McWilliams would serve only 19 years and upon release moved to Massachusetts, where he lived a quiet life as an orchid grower, florist and landscaping business owner. He died in 1997.
Russell McWilliams
Courtesy of the Illinois Supreme Court Preservation Commission
Suspect theft ring busted
Attorney General Kwame Raoul is touting the success of his Organized Retail Crime Task Force in bringing charges against a pair of Wisconsin women accused of operating a crime ring that targeted suburban Ulta and Victoria’s Secret stores.
Ashley Williams, 28, and Schantasia Abernathy, 29, both of Milwaukee, are charged with stealing items four times from an Ulta store in Geneva, four times from one in Naperville and three times from one in Niles, between Jan. 28, 2023, and May 6, 2023. They’re also charged with stealing items twice from a Victoria’s Secret in Bolingbrook, and once from a store in Aurora during that same time period.
Williams is charged with one count of organized retail crime; one count of being an organizer of a continuing financial crimes enterprise; one count of continuing a financial crimes enterprise; 15 counts of retail theft; and 14 counts of burglary. Abernathy is charged with one count of continuing a financial crimes enterprise; four counts of retail theft; and three counts of burglary. Abernathy is charged with one count of continuing a financial crimes enterprise; four counts of retail theft; and three counts of burglary.
The duo would steal fragrances and clothing, and Williams would then resell them using her Instagram account, according to a news release from the attorney general.
They are being tried in Kane County, and their next court dates are Oct. 18.
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