Kendall state’s attorney, sheriff say high court ruling on cashless bail law will create challenges

Kendall County’s top two law enforcement officials reacted with disappointment and worry to the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the state’s controversial cashless bail law, which will go into effect Sept. 18.

The state high court handed down its decision Tuesday, July 18, ruling that the Pretrial Fairness Act is constitutional.

Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis and Kendall County Sheriff Dwight Baird said the cashless bail system will create additional challenges for police and prosecutors.

“Get ready for some changes,” Weis told the Kendall County Board, not long after the court’s decision was made public. “There will be some hefty costs to the county.”

The sheriff agreed.

“I’m disappointed in the decision,” Baird said. “I don’t think it will improve the criminal justice system and it will cost more. It’s a disservice to crime victims.”

The biggest procedural change will be when a person charged with a crime is first brought before a judge, Weis said.

While the judge may order persons charged with violent crimes including murder and aggravated battery to be held in jail, other lesser offenses will no longer be considered “detainable,” Weis said.

In the case of violent crimes that are detainable, which also include arson, domestic violence and rape, prosecutors would need to show the judge that the person charged represents a threat to the public or is a flight risk.

Both Weis and Baird said the new system will result in more criminals being released back onto the streets.

Weis is forecasting a 15% to 20% increase in the number of cases and appeals to be handled by his office.

The end of cash bail will eliminate an incentive for some defendants to appear in court, Baird said. “We already have many people not showing up for court dates. What will be the incentive?”

A result of the cashless bail system will be the issuance of more failure-to-appear warrants that sheriff’s deputies will be required to execute. “It will take our deputies’ time away from patrolling and responding to calls.”

Weis said he will ask the Kendall County Board for additional prosecutors and support staff when budget hearings get underway this fall.

Approved by the Illinois General Assemble and signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker last year, many of the components of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness, Equality-Today Act, including requirements for police training and the use of body-worn cameras, took effect Jan. 1.

However, the cashless bail component of the law has been in legal limbo since a Kankakee County judge ruled it unconstitutional just days before the legislation was to take effect.

Weis and more than half of the county state’s attorneys from around Illinois filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act that were consolidated and argued in a Kankakee courtroom.

The decision was appeal to the state high court, and Weis was one of six state’s attorneys who sat before the justices March 14 in Springfield.

Although Weis did not deliver oral arguments in the case, he was a leading player in the efforts challenging the law.

The pre-trial fairness portion of the law is unconstitutional because it violates the separation of powers principle that prevents one branch of government from interfering with the functions of another, Weis said, contending that the General Assembly overstepped the authority of the judiciary.

However, Weis said his office will move forward to comply with the law’s provisions.

“I respect the decision of the court,” Weis said. “The [Kendall County] courthouse will not implode.”

Concerns about the law resulted in amendments that were approved by lawmakers and signed by Pritzker during the 2022 fall veto session.

The amendments added to the list of offenses for which a person may be detained, including aggravated battery and aggravated drunken driving involving a death.

Prosecutors would need only to show that an offender represents a threat to the community at-large, rather than only a single identifiable individual, in order to be held.

The amended law also allows for arrest warrants to be issued for those who fail to appear in court, changing a provision of the original act that had drawn considerable criticism.

Weis and 57 other county state’s attorneys from Illinois filed their lawsuits challenging the act before the trailer bill and its amendments were introduced and signed by the governor. More counties joined the legal action later.