Illinois Leaders Call for Cashless Bail Reform

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00]Let's start [music] in Illinois.

[00:00:02]Greg's home state as I mentioned before, Illinois was the first state to end cash bail. This was with a provision that took effect in the land of Lincoln in 2023 as part of the state's safety act.

[00:00:15]Now, Chicago Democrats started this movement first in Cook County where there was a law there to end cash bail and that became a statewide thing enacted in 2023. Now, supporters say crime is down in Chicago and the data backs that up.

[00:00:30]Crime is down across the state of Illinois as it is across most of the United States.

[00:00:35]And supporters say a person's financial resources should not determine whether or not they are released from custody or custody or held pending trial. And now critics say the law needs fixing especially after a number of incidents which have received national media attention not just local or statewide media attention. And the most recent, the alleged murder of Chicago police officer John Bartholomew.

[00:01:00]Uh, the shooting left his partner, fellow officer, injured and the suspect is facing about 20 felony charges and this is an individual who has been convicted of multiple felonies. As our Center Square reporter, Shawn Reed, has reported at the centersquare.com, the suspect uh was on electronic monitoring but was apparently not monitored all that closely as he escaped from electronic monitoring. So, naturally in the wake of this incident in Chicago, there have been calls to review the Safety Act and electronic monitoring and pretrial detention or no cash bail in Illinois. So, Governor J.B. Pritzker held an event on another topic, quantum related event, in Chicago on Wednesday and reporters asked the governor about the Safety Act and he has largely defended that piece of legislation.

[00:01:53]I will say that uh the fundamentals of the Safety Act that are in place which allow a judge to make the decision not uh you know, just people being able to buy their way out uh once they've committed a crime with bail but rather the judge making a decision about whether with the prosecutors and the defense attorneys uh working together in court uh over the question of whether somebody uh who's violent should be let out in the community. And of course, keeping them in jail, a decision to do that which is something that is inherent in the Safety Act. It's one of the great things about the Safety Act is we give the judges the ability to say, "No, you're not going to get bail. You are going to stay in jail."

[00:02:39]So, the governor really uh once again, not wavering from his support of this law >> [clears throat] >> and he uh has been asked about other proposals. There are quite a few out there to make tweaks. Uh in general, the uh initial sponsor of the legislation, Chicago Democrat Justin Slaughter, and others who have backed the Safety Act >> [clears throat] >> and the end of cash bail, well, they've uh defended this and and stood by it and the governor is essentially doing that as well. So, he'll he'll consider tweaks. He has said that multiple times but he said in this case, the problem really essentially wasn't the law. It was a poor decision by a Cook County judge.

[00:03:15]In this case, I mean, it's a tragedy what's happened. Awful. And as you've seen in most of the cases uh where Republicans have complained about the Safety Act, it's actually been the bad decision by a an elected judge uh in Illinois or or no hearing at all because the prosecutor didn't bring it to the judge.

[00:03:36]Uh and that has been a reason why somebody gets let out. A judge can make this decision. A judge should have made the decision to keep that person in jail.

[00:03:45]Now, Illinois Republicans have complained as the governor said. In fact, some would say they've complained incessantly over the last several years about the Safety Act. They have also put forth a number of proposals in the state legislature they say would improve the Safety Act. Now, there are some Republicans as well who have called for the measures outright repeal. Uh but Illinois House Republican leader, Tony McCombie, Republican from Savanna in Northwestern Illinois, uh she talked Wednesday about what she said have been the failures of the Safety Act.

[00:04:17]Preventable harm is unacceptable and this is not an isolated an isolated incident. The reality of the Safety Act is stark. Individuals with extensive criminal histories or active charges are being um released and committing crimes, serious crimes, in their communities.

[00:04:39]We've seen it again and again and to mention just a couple, there are plenty more. Lawrence Reed, with over 70 prior arrest, was on electronic monitoring when he allegedly set a woman on fire on a Chicago train.

[00:04:54]Tommy Carter, a seven-time convicted felon on pretrial release, attempted to kill a man by pushing him onto a CTA track as a train approached. And like I said, there are several others just here in Illinois.

[00:05:10]We've also seen individuals on pretrial release involved in police chases, reckless firearm discharge on public transit, and violent attacks on law enforcement even after cutting off their electronic monitoring device. This is not a pattern, not an exception.

[00:05:29]That's Tony McCombie. She's the Illinois House Republican leader. Now, on the Senate side, there is a brand new proposal and again, Republicans have introduced dozens of pieces of legislation to make changes to the Safety Act. Uh one of those came from the Illinois Senate minority leader, John Curran. He's from Downers Grove in the western suburbs outside of Chicago.

[00:05:50]He said Senate Bill 4195 would revoke pretrial release in cases where an individual commits a felony while on release. This is John Curran, the Illinois Republican leader in the state Senate.

[00:06:05]Letting violent offenders out over and over again to commit more violent crimes isn't creating less prisoners. It's creating more victims and more chaos.

[00:06:18]This bill is a critical solution to hold violent criminals accountable and protect potential future victims.

[00:06:29]Senate Bill 4195 and the companion House Bill 5757 are basic common sense amendments to the Pretrial Fairness Act that says, "If you are arrested for a felony and you're on pre- while you're on pretrial release with an ankle monitor for another felony, you are held until you have your day in court and have resolved both cases.

[00:06:59]Pretrial release is a second chance.

[00:07:03]It is not a third, a fourth, or a 12th chance to go and create more chaos in society, harm victims, or even kill police officers.

[00:07:17]Illinois Senate Republican leader, John Curran. Now, Republicans aren't the only ones though calling for changes to the Safety Act. Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, a Chicago Democrat who is not running for re-election as comptroller but there is much talk about her running for mayor of Chicago. She made a previous run and she is considered one of the potentially one of the top candidates who could give Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson a run in 2027. Well, Susana Mendoza said that the she in a in an article by Shawn Reed at the centersquare.com, uh discussed this and talked about the need for changes and that electronic monitoring as it stands isn't working. Also, Cook County State's Attorney, Eileen O'Neill Burke, Chicago Democrat, same thing, calling for changes.

[00:08:04]But Mendoza in particular said that that the law needs to be changed and at least two Chicago aldermen, and all of the Chicago aldermen are Democrats, uh but two of the um two who are not part of, say, the socialist caucus who would be seen as more um right-leaning Democrats, uh Raymond Lopez and Silvana Tabares, also came out with statements after the the death of Chicago police officer John Bartholomew coming out and saying, uh "We need changes. This needs to change."

[00:08:33]So, that's going to be a story we're keeping an eye on.

[00:08:36]Uh will there be movement in this legislative session that, you know, we're down to just over a month left?

[00:08:42]Doesn't appear likely but we're going to be keeping an eye on that. And again, brand new proposal in the state Senate yesterday. So, we'll see if that gains any traction at all in the Illinois Senate and our reporters at the Illinois capital, Greg Bishop, Shawn Reed, will be keeping a close eye on that because it's a story that doesn't appear to be going away and it seems whenever there's one of these incidents, tragic, um criminal, however you may want to describe it, these calls to repeal the Safety Act once [music] again come up. Although again, supporters of the legislation say the crime is down. So, that's the story we will continue to watch at the centersquare.com.