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Illinois Experiments With Ending Cash Bail With the SAFE-T Act
“We’re building the plane as we fly it,” say some criminal justice reformers. Not everyone is convinced.
In a groundbreaking move aimed at reshaping the state’s criminal justice landscape, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act in 2021.
After surviving several legal and political challenges, the SAFE-T Act is swiftly become the law of the land in 2023.
The comprehensive legislation, which is now being rolled out in phases, introduces far-reaching reforms encompassing pre-arrest diversion, policing practices, pretrial procedures, sentencing protocols, and corrections.
The SAFE-T Act’s multifaceted measures are poised to enact a paradigm shift across various dimensions of the criminal justice system, addressing issues of accountability, fairness, and equity. The implementation of these reforms will be overseen by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), tasked with orchestrating various components of the Act concerning policing, pretrial proceedings, and deaths occurring in custody.
As usual, some are in favor of the measure while others aren’t convinced of its efficacy.