The state's highest court overturned a ruling by a Kankakee County judge that the law ending cash bail was unconstitutional.

In a 5-2 ruling Tuesday morning, the state’s highest court overturned a ruling by a Kankakee County judge that the law ending cash bail was unconstitutional. The end to cash bail will now go into effect across the entire state on Sept. 18, according to the Illinois Supreme Court ruling.

  • MasterOBee Master/King@lemmy.world
    01·
    2 years ago

    The court’s decision today holds – as my office has consistently advocated – that the General Assembly had the authority to eliminate cash bail and replace it with a system in which people are detained pending trial only if they pose a threat to the public or are a flight risk.

    I’m not too knowledgeable about how the system works, but isn’t this kind of what we did, just now without any requirement for bail?

    This seems to remove the only encouragement to return to court without an appropriate replacement.

    To my knowledge, I thought bail was basically a ‘loan’ that you get back when you return to court.

    • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
      1·
      2 years ago

      Cash bail drastically over affects poor people. If you dont have money to put up or assests to leverage, you hsve to take a loan that costs 10% of the loan total, i.e if you need 50k, you still need 5k to give up.

      If you cant do the above like many poor people, you are stuck in jail while not being convincted of a crime. This almost always costs you your job, your home, all your belongings, your car, custody of your children, on and on. There are countless horror stories of people spending years in jail awaiting trial to be aquiteed and released, having lost everything they have in the world while being found not guilty of the crime.

      This system ends that. If youre a flight risk or violent, you stay in jail. If not, you can carry on your life until youre convicted, which is both just and reasonable. It puts the poor and the rich in the same justice system, and thats a good thing.

      • MasterOBee Master/King@lemmy.world
        01·
        2 years ago

        Please try to understand something about the American criminal justice system before you comment on it.

        I wrote a comment starting that I’m not knowledgeable and asking for more opinions.

        You told me I don’t understand it, need to read up more and that you have the answers. Then you have people correcting you and you need to edit and correct your comment.

        Seems like I have the right amount of confidence in my response, and you are way too over confident.