SAFE-T Act

Chief Judge Andrew Gleeson said the numbers may drop in the next eight weeks but he doesn’t expect that to continue. A jail spokesman said the jail population could even increase in the long term.

Illinois became the first state in the country to abolish cash bail on Monday, but the courts remained slow in the Metro East.

When Illinois becomes the first U.S. state to abolish cash bail, it could set off a surge in electronic monitoring to the fear of the law’s most fervent supporters.

State lawmakers passed and the governor signed the criminal justice reform back in 2021. Originally scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2023, lawsuits slowed the SAFE-T Act's enactment. The legislation includes the elimination of cash bail.

Experts say the doomsday scenarios surrounding the controversial criminal justice reform aren’t likely to materialize. But big changes are coming.

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis said the decision was made due to “the anticipated volume of investigations and hearings on pretrial detention” when bail reform goes into effect Sept. 18.

The opinion was handed down in a lawsuit by a central Illinois lawmaker who argued that banning the sale of high-powered rifles and high-capacity magazines violates the state constitution.

Partisan 5-2 ruling says state’s constitution does not guarantee right to monetary bail.

The office has $200,000 more in its budget than it did about five months ago. The chief defender used the new money to raise salaries to retain existing lawyers and fill vacancies.

Illinois' high court put the SAFE-T Act criminal justice reform — short for Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today — on hold in December just hours before it was scheduled to take effect. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case.