Peters alleges that police and conservatives bashing the reforms, including the “Pretrial Fairness Act” that would end cash bail in Illinois, are using “Willie Horton-style scare tactics.”
A year after Cook County adopted sweeping bond reforms, the number of inmates held pretrial because they cannot make bail has dropped significantly. But with increasing frequency, bond court judges are ignoring the order that they not hold suspects by setting bail they cannot afford
The county judges and sheriff make meaningful review of bail reforms difficult by withholding key data, the Civic Federation reports.
Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge says the new rules he imposed on bond court have driven down the number of pretrial detainees ordered to post cash to be released from custody. “The new system is doing just what I had promised you it would do,” he tells Cook County commissioners at Friday hearing.