Illinois criminal law has seen a major change this past year. The Bail Reform Act went into effect on January 1, 2018, and was a major departure from the old way of setting bail.
In the past, a judge was to consider a great number of factors before setting a cash bond, with input from the State’s Attorney. But once the Bail Reform Act went into effect, cash is no longer king.
The Act specifically states that conditions of bail shall be non-monetary in nature for a large number of non-violent or drug possession offenses. In other words, for those crimes, persons arrested should not have to post any money before they are released.
This is quite a shocking concept to most people. But the rationale behind the new law explains the drastic change. There are two purposes of bail: 1. To protect the public, and 2. To insure people show up for their court dates. Those are the only two reasons. The purpose of bail is absolutely not to pre-punish someone for a crime, because everyone charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty.
As for protecting the public, posting money for bail is still required for violent offenses and Class 2 Felonies or greater. But what about those non-violent offenses?
Non-violent offenses include driving on a suspended license, theft, and drug possession, to name a few. The General Assembly, after conducting quite a bit of research, found that those people arrested for non-violent offenses and drug possession were increasingly likely to commit more and worse crimes in the future the longer they stayed in the county jail awaiting trial. Additionally, poorer citizens were being kept in jail simply because they could not afford to post any cash, not because they couldn’t remember to show up for court. And for those being kept in jail, they were losing their jobs and could not pay their bills or provide for their families. For the poorer citizens, life got disproportionately worse than for those who could post cash.
How does the new act work in practice? First, a judge looks at the offense charged. Offenses are placed into two categories: Category A. Violent offenses and Class 2 felonies or greater, and Category B. Non-violent offenses less than a Class 2 felony.
If a person is charged with a Category B offense, the judge is to consider a great number of factors, but most importantly, What will cause this person to show up on their court dates?
If the judge does require monetary bond and the person is not able to post the cash, the person is entitled to a bond reduction hearing within seven days. Also, for each day a person is held in jail on a Category B offense, the amount of their cash bond is reduced by $30 per day, until it reaches $0 and they are released.
For further information, the complete text of the statute can be found on the Illinois General Assembly’s website: http://www.ilga.gov.
William C. Hudson, Circuit Judge
