In this Sept. 29, 2011 file photo, inmates at the Cook County Jail in Chicago, line up to be processed for release. Activists who say too many poor people are unfairly languishing in U.S. jails because they can’t afford to post cash bail are increasingly deploying a new tactic: Bailing out strangers. Community groups are collecting donations from individuals, churches, cities and other organizations in more than a dozen cities, including New York, Chicago, Seattle and Nashville, to bail out indigent prisoners.
M. Spencer Green File
In this Sept. 29, 2011 file photo, inmates at the Cook County Jail in Chicago, line up to be processed for release. Activists who say too many poor people are unfairly languishing in U.S. jails because they can’t afford to post cash bail are increasingly deploying a new tactic: Bailing out strangers. Community groups are collecting donations from individuals, churches, cities and other organizations in more than a dozen cities, including New York, Chicago, Seattle and Nashville, to bail out indigent prisoners.
M. Spencer Green File
The provision is part of the SAFE-T Act, which state Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law in 2021.
In this Sept. 29, 2011 file photo, inmates at the Cook County Jail in Chicago, line up to be processed for release. Activists who say too many poor people are unfairly languishing in U.S. jails because they can’t afford to post cash bail are increasingly deploying a new tactic: Bailing out strangers. Community groups are collecting donations from individuals, churches, cities and other organizations in more than a dozen cities, including New York, Chicago, Seattle and Nashville, to bail out indigent prisoners.
M. Spencer Green File
The Illinois State Supreme Court is set to rule Tuesday on whether lawmakers can eliminate cash bail in the state. Cash bail was set to end at the beginning of 2023, but that was put on hold after lawsuits were filed.
Reset digs into how the current cash bail system works in Illinois and what to expect out of the forthcoming decision.
GUEST: Shannon Heffernan, WBEZ criminal justice reporter
