By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Pritzker is considering a bill the legislature has sent him to eliminate cash bail in Illinois in two years.
Sponsoring Sen. Robert Peters (D-Chicago) tells the online program “The Appeal” where you stay awaiting trial should not depend on how much money you make.
“For too long we have allowed law enforcement to tell us what it means to have a safe community, even though many of them don’t live in our community to begin with,” said Peters. “Organizations, legislators, and folks who are working on policy understand it is on us to find the safety that we need in our community.
“The other part is we need to indict a failed system of public safety; one that relies on ‘tough on crime’ policies that haven’t worked.”
Peters says, if anyone wants a model bill, let’s make it.
Another “Appeal” panelist, Sharone Mitchell of the Illinois Justice Project, said people often forget – when they hear of an arrest – that it’s “innocent until proven guilty,” rather than simply locking someone up and beginning their punishment immediately.
HOW ILLINOIS WON THE FIGHT TO END CASH BAIL: State Sen. @RobertJPeters, State Rep. @RepJSlaughter, @SharlynDGrace & @SharoneMitchJr join #AppealLive to talk about their success in ending cash bail. https://t.co/HomkfeCnZs
— The Appeal (@theappeal) January 25, 2021
Dave Dahl can be reached at news@wjbc.com
