Illinois Supreme Court hearing arguments on end to cash bail
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Illinois Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Tuesday about whether a state law ending cash bail is constitutional.
The end to cash bail in Illinois was supposed to go into effect on Jan. 1, but the state's highest court ordered on Dec. 31 that that provision of the so-called "SAFE-T Act" would be put on hold indefinitely as justices prepared to consider an appeal of a Kankakee County judge's ruling that the law violates the state constitution.
The end of cash bail in Illinois was a key provision of the 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, arguing the SAFE-T Act is unconstitutionally vague, violates crime victims' rights, and infringes on the courts' powers.
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.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who supports the end of cash bail, and was a defendant in the Kankakee County case, has appealed Cunnington's ruling.
The Illinois Supreme Court agreed to an expedited schedule for hearing the appeal, and will hear arguments on the case Tuesday morning in Springfield. It's unclear how quickly justices could rule on the appeal.