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* One Illinois…
The governor and lieutenant governor laid out extensive plans for criminal-justice reform Thursday, saying they’d work to end cash bail for low-level crimes, push drug offenders toward treatment rather than incarceration, and reduce mandatory sentencing.
At a so-called fireside chat at Kennedy-King College in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, Gov. J.B. Pritzker credited Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton with heading what they call the Justice, Equity, and Opportunity Initiative.
Pritzker cited how, on New Year’s Eve, he pardoned 11,000 drug offenders as part of the equity provisions in the legalization of cannabis, which took effect the following day. The JEO Initiative builds on that, with perhaps an initial focus on drug crimes, but it also attempts to extend such community-minded reforms across the justice system and in all areas of the state.
* WGLT…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a pair of ambitious criminal justice reform goals Thursday: the end of cash bonds and mandatory minimum sentences in Illinois.
Pritzker says it’s part of “prudently” reducing the state’s 40,000 inmate prison population.
He acknowledges it will likely take several years to implement, but says ending cash bonds is a priority.
* ABC 7…
Ending cash bail throughout the state was at the top of his agenda.
“Judges can make the decision about whether somebody is a menace to the community, if they’re let out on bail. We need to put a system in place that has a standard for a judge to use to make those decisions,” Pritzker said.
The governor said his plan also includes sending low-level drug offenders into treatment programs, which could save taxpayers money, and reforming mandatory sentencing laws, which could reduce the prison population.
* The Question: Your thoughts on this topic?
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 1:37 pm
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Getting people out of our jails (simply because they’re poor) will save our county governments billions of dollars. That money can be for other purposes or even property tax relief.
Comment by Just Me 2 Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 1:47 pm
Ending cash bail for low level crimes seems like a no-brainer. It will save money on housing inmates and will allow folks awaiting trial to keep their jobs. The “keeping their jobs” part may be the more important piece of this reform.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 1:53 pm
I will never get tired of the governing we get from this governor. Especially after the refresher course in Raunerism - including a classic Rauner word salad - in the “Our Sorry State” post below.
Comment by Nick Name Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 1:59 pm
Illinois is just as awful at funding addiction treatment as they are at funding disability services, behavioral health services, and foster care.
So yeah, you can say “we want people to get treatment instead of jailtime,” but if treatment were a real option, they would not be facing jail time in the first place.
Show me the money.
Comment by Thomas Paine Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 2:04 pm
Are there enough treatment facilities out there?
Comment by NoGifts Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 2:09 pm
Bail is supposed to insure a defense shows up for trial. It is not meant as a punishment. So if the defendant is a low level or non violent offender let him out pending trial
My problem is defendant ls that have a host of no shows or history of petty offenses. Let them sit.
Comment by DuPage Saint Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 2:12 pm
I’m not opposed to no bail for low-level crime but they need to be prosecuted. Let them out but have a trial and if found guilty they go to jail or serve whatever punishment is meted. What I don’t like is not prosecuting people for what is perceived as low-level crime. That crime affects the victim and they should get justice.
Comment by BigLou Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 2:14 pm
I’m in favor of keeping cash bonds in place for property crimes and thefts, even if they are low-level. Sometimes the only restitution a victim will ever see is the money posted to bond out the suspect.
Comment by Tom Collins Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 2:17 pm
Tom Collins well said I totally agree.
Comment by theCardinal Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 2:23 pm
- DuPage Saint - raises some good points.
Maybe the solution is a requirement that a defendant must be held pending trial after a certain number of court no-shows in their criminal background. Or still allow the judge to set cash bail if a defendant has previously blown off a court date.
Comment by TEN Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 2:24 pm
In LaSalle County, we have quite a few people picked up for failure to appear in court. How they expect to get away with that, I don’t know.
I wonder if no-bail release will only add to that? I can’t see discriminating against the poor, but what incentive will they have to show up in court?
Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 2:27 pm
I also wonder about cash bonds for failure to appear. Those are an effective tool in our child support enforcement toolkit. The money goes straight to the custodial parent.
Comment by Rayne of Terror Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 2:31 pm
I’d say let’s see how Cook County’s experiment in this has worked before imposing it on the rest of the State. A number of stories have appeared that show how offenders released on recognizance bonds go out and immediately commit another crime. NYC and San Francisco are having similar experiences with their approach to the issue.
Comment by Bored Chairman Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 2:44 pm
I like it. I liked Rauner’s criminal justice reforms as well. Here’s hoping the work continues to be a nonpartisan issue.
Comment by Earnest Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 2:56 pm
Anyone that reads CWB Chicago website regularly knows this is not a good idea. The issue is what is a low level crime. Some misdemeanors involve physical violence. Bond is also to protect the public safety. This has not worked out se well in other cities.
Comment by SW Friday, Jan 10, 20 @ 4:19 pm
“Anyone that reads CWB Chicago website regularly knows this is not a good idea.“
==Anyone who reads the CWB Chicago website knows it’s an FOP mouthpiece pushing an anti-Kim Foxx agenda.==
Fixed it for ya.
Comment by charles in charge Monday, Jan 13, 20 @ 12:42 pm