Illinois Pretrial Incarceration Becomes Less Random A Year After Elimination of Cash Bail
by David M. Reutter
One year after Illinois eliminated cash bail, state courts are not only remanding fewer people to jail to await trial but also engaging in more deliberation about pretrial detention. Those results are part of the findings in a report published by the Loyola Chicago Center for Criminal Justice (CCJ) on September 24, 2024.
Researchers noted that their findings are not definitive due to the short time span since the state Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) took effect on September 18, 2023. Nonetheless, the data reflect a significant positive change in the process to determine whether a defendant merits pretrial detention.
The PFA eliminated use of cash bail in all criminal cases while also prohibiting pretrial detention altogether for most other defendants. Plus, it further established “new and uniform processes, timelines, and decision standards for pretrial detention and release hearings,” the report noted.
Under the PFA, prosecutors must file a petition to seek pretrial detention. But as a consequence of eliminating cash bail, PFA hearings are now “longer and more deliberative.” Pre-PFA, bond hearings had a median length of 4 to 6 minutes. Post-PFA, hearings on “conditions” of release are still short (4 to 5 minutes), however, “detention” hearings have increased to 10 to 30 minutes—and close to an hour in more complex cases
Prior to the PFA, judges rarely provided a reason for imposing bail. But post-PFA decisions provide reasons for detention, and the diversity of factors considered has increased, overlapping in mention by the prosecution, defense, and judge. Detention hearings created “new demands and deadlines” that challenge prosecutors and defenders. Judges have conducted hearings “with an eye to transparency being careful to articulate reasons for their decisions, [and] point to case-specific facts to support them,” the report stated.
The results varied by county. Of cases eligible for detention, the petition rate varied from 15% to 95%. Detention rates varied from 11% to more than 50%. Defendants charged with more serious crimes were more likely to be detained. Pre-PFA detention rates were roughly 51%; post-PFA, “just 9% of defendants were detained after their initial court hearing” and three days after arrest. Rates of detention for detainable offenses dropped from 77% pre-PFA to 33% post PFA. The report found a major result was that “monthly average jail populations fell 14% in Cook and other urban counties, and 25% in rural counties.”
Post-PFA pretrial supervision, such as electronic monitoring, increased dramatically in 44 counties. The rate of post-PFA pretrial supervision exceeded the drop in post-PFA pretrial jail population. The increase was partly attributable to the availability of services from the Office of Statewide Pretrial Services (OSPS) in counties that lacked them before. OSPS provides electronic monitoring at no cost to the defendant and county.
Hearing attendance under the PFA was mixed. In 22 counties, Failure to Appear (FTA) warrants decreased from 13.5% pre-PFA to 11.5% post-PFA. But FTA warrants increased from 13.1% to 16.1% for Class 3 and higher non-detainable offenses. Crime rates were compared for the first and second six-month periods since the PFA became effective. The comparison showed an 11% overall decrease in crime, violent crimes decreased by 7%, and property crimes decreased by 14%.
The overall impact of the PFA on crime and public safety is yet to be determined. The evaluation is ongoing and will continue until at least December 2025. See: The First Year of the Pretrial Fairness Act, CCJ (Sep. 2024).
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