Illinois Supreme Court to hear arguments on end to cash bail in March
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Illinois Supreme Court will hear arguments in March about whether a state law ending cash bail is constitutional, meaning courts across the state will continue using cash bail for at least two more months.
The state's highest court ordered on Dec. 31 that the end of cash bail in Illinois would be put on hold indefinitely as it prepared to consider an appeal of a Kankakee County judge's ruling that eliminating cash bail violates the state constitution.
The end of cash bail in Illinois was a key provision of the so-called SAFE-T Act, a sweeping criminal justice reform law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in February 2021.
On Dec. 28, Kankakee County Judge Thomas Cunnington found that the pretrial release portions of the SAFE-T Act violate the separation of powers clause of the Illinois Constitution. A group of state's attorneys from more than 60 counties in Illinois had sued to block the end of cash bail, and Cunnington's decision essentially allowed for cash bail to continue in counties that had joined the case, while counties that were not involved were free to end cash bail on Jan. 1, until the Supreme Court stepped in to pause the end of cash bail statewide.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who supports the end of cash bail, and was a defendant in the Kankakee County case, has notified the Supreme Court of his intent to appeal Cunnington's ruling.
On Thursday, the state's highest court agreed to an expedited schedule for hearing the appeal, and gave Raoul, Pritzker, and other defendants in the case until Jan. 20 to file their "record of appeal," which would contain all of the court filings and rulings from the original case.
The defendants would then have until Jan. 26 to file their first brief in their appeal, the plaintiffs in the lawsuits would have until Feb. 17 to file their briefs, and the defendants would have until Feb. 27 to reply.
The Illinois Supreme Court would then hear oral arguments on the appeal during their March session, although no specific date has yet been set.
Critics of the current bail system say it unfairly punishes the poor, and that they are confident the state's highest court will rule the end of cash bail is constitutional.
"We look forward to mounting a robust defense of the constitutionality of the law ... and ensuring that it goes into effect across the state," Raoul said in a statement last week.
Pritzker had called Cunnington's ruling a setback for the principles we fought to protect through the passage of the SAFE-T Act."
"The General Assembly and advocates worked to replace an antiquated criminal justice system with a system rooted in equity and fairness. We cannot and should not defend a system that fails to keep people safe by allowing those who are a threat to their community the ability to simply buy their way out of jail. I thank the Attorney General for his work on this case and look forward to the Illinois Supreme Court taking up the appeal as soon as possible," Pritzker said in a statement on Wednesday.
Kankakee County State's Attorney Jim Rowe, one of the state's attorneys who had challenged the end to cash bail in Illinois, has hailed Cunnington's ruling.
"Today's ruling affirms that we are still a government of the people, and that the Constitutional protections afforded to the citizens of Illinois – most importantly the right to exercise our voice with our vote – are inalienable. The Act was a 765 page bill passed during a lame duck session under cover of darkness at 4:00a.m., affording legislators less than one hour to read it and vote on it, and denying the general public any opportunity to offer comment or input. It amended the State Constitution and eroded the constitutional protections of the Victim Rights Act, all while disenfranchising the people of their Constitutional right to vote on such reforms. The people of Illinois deserve better than that, and today's verdict condemns the Act for exactly what it is: unconstitutional." Rowe said in a statement on Wednesday.
Rowe had argued that the end of cash bail "stripped away" the courts' ability to ensure the safety of victims and victims' families, according to the Kankakee County State's Attorney's office.
In his ruling, the judge wrote that the law's changes to cash bail should have been put before voters as a proposed constitutional amendment.
Just weeks ago, Illinois state lawmakers passed a revised SAFE-T Act – after months of criticism and concerns over its elimination of cash bond. But the revision was not enough to prompt 65 state's attorneys across the state to drop their lawsuits challenging it.
Rowe argued that the act is unconstitutional for several reasons. He argued first, it's vague; second, it violates crime victims' rights; third, because its passage violated legislative rules and procedures; and fourth, because it infringes on the court's power.
But the attorney for the State of Illinois told Judge Cunnington the state's attorneys' arguments are an overreach. The attorney for Illinois said there are many precedents that discount the plaintiffs' arguments, and he also argued that the law would only be unconstitutional if it unduly infringes upon judicial power.