After two years of challenges, Illinois' 'no cash bail' law takes effect Monday

Effective Monday, controversial "no cash bail" provisions go into effect in Illinois.

Since the final day of the 2021 lame-duck session, the SAFE-T Act has been highly criticized among the public, law enforcement, and state's attorneys. Now, two and half years later after court battles, the no-cash bail provisions found within the law are set to take effect statewide Sept. 18.

Under the law, Illinois will replace its current cash bail system with a new set of standards that prosecutors must meet to be able to detain an individual pre-trial.

Southern Illinois legislators opposed the SAFE-T Act when it passed the General Assembly, saying the law fails to address the financial impacts that the elimination of bail will have on counties and victim services. 

They also argued that the law fails to provide judges enough discretion to be able to hold certain offenders in jail, leading to a heightened risk to public safety.

Proponents of the new law say cash bail policies are especially unfair to Black people and other people of color, citing a 2022 study that showed Black men received bail amounts 35% higher than white men, and Latino men received bail amounts 19% higher than white men.

The loudest opposition to the change in Illinois has come from law enforcement. Jim Kaitschuk, executive director of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, said "I think we’ll be searching for a lot of people” because defendants who don’t post bond have no incentive to return to court, Kaitschuk said.




llinois state Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, center, testifies before the Senate Executive Committee, Dec. 1, 2022, on his legislation to clarify the SAFE-T Act, a sweeping criminal justice overhaul that notably eliminates cash bail. Accompanying Peters are co-sponsors, Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, left, and Sen. Scott Bennett, D-Champaign. Illinois lawmakers’ effort to end cash bail is in the state Supreme Court’s hands after justices heard arguments Tuesday, March 14, 2023, on behalf of top Democrats, and a group of prosecutors and sheriffs who are challenging the law. (AP Photo/John O’Connor, File)