CASH BAIL'S END: Capitol News Daily | Saturday, Sept. 17

View this email in your browser CAPITOL NEWS DAILY The top stories of the day in state government coverage from Capitol News Illinois. DONATE TO CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS By now most readers will know that cash bail in Illinois will be abolished come Jan. 1.   But what comes next has been hotly debated to a point where facts have often been secondary to the political viewpoint of whomever is sharing the "information."   Below, Bureau Chief Jerry Nowicki has a deep dive into the language contained in the SAFE-T Act and how it might not be as clear as even some of its most ardent backers want it to be.   There's follow-up legislation in the works that means the system written in law might not be the one that takes effect when the calendar hits Jan. 1.   The main point of contention stems from the circumstances in which a judge can order a defendant held pretrial, or before they've been found guilty.   Backers of the bill say their intent was to put in place a system in which judges have greater authority to detain dangerous individuals, while those who aren't a threat will be cited and released. State's attorneys, meanwhile, say the letter of the law makes it extremely challenging to detain based on dangerousness alone when it comes to nonprobational felonies.   Nowicki has an in-depth look at what the law does, the driving factors behind it, a task force that is working to implement it and what changes could be on the way.   We also have more on Illinois' response to hundreds of migrants being bused to the state by Texas, and news from Vice President Kamala Harris' recent trip to Chicago.   What happens when cash bail ends? The measure that will eliminate cash bail has been on the books since early 2021, giving the justice system two years to plan for the major overhaul of the state's pretrial detention system. It's also given time for the measure to become politicized to a point where the reality of the law has become indistinguishable from the political rhetoric surrounding it. "As I've said many times, what we want to make sure doesn't happen is that someone who's wealthy and commits a terrible violent crime – it could be, by the way, a wealthy drug dealer – doesn't have an easy time getting bail compared to somebody who maybe commits shoplifting and for a couple of hundred dollars is stuck in jail," Gov. JB Pritzker said at a news conference in August. But opponents and advocates of the reform agree that, beyond simply ending cash bail, the law seeks to reduce the number of people incarcerated before a guilty verdict by limiting the circumstances in which a judge can order pretrial detention.  Republicans and state's attorneys have continued to fight for changes to the law, up to a full repeal, arguing that while the intent may be to empower judges to detain more dangerous individuals, the bill as written is too limiting.  A nonpartisan task force formed under the Supreme Court, meanwhile, is working to assist with implementation in the justice system ahead of Jan. 1 and has identified unclear or contradictory sections of the bill that lawmakers should reconsider before Jan. 1. "It is frustrating because many aspects of the statute are not clear," retired Judge Robbin Stuckert, who chairs the Pretrial Implementation Task Force, said at a July town hall meeting. "They may be vague, gray areas. And again, we are charged by the Supreme Court to assist with implementation." The law's sponsors in the General Assembly said they are working with the task force on legislation clarifying some of those matters – particularly when it comes to detainable offenses – for potential passage this fall.   Read the rest of the story here. In visit to Illinois, VP Harris rallies voters around abortion rights Vice President Kamala Harris came to Chicago on Friday to rally voters who support abortion rights and urge them to turn out in the upcoming midterm elections. Speaking at a roundtable discussion on reproductive rights at the University of Illinois Chicago, Harris said the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade has put abortion rights at the forefront in races up and down the ballot. "Who is your governor matters," she said. "Whether they're going to protect these rights and support these rights to freedom and liberty, it matters. Who is your attorney general matters. Whether they are going to protect and defend the principles ingrained in the Constitution of the United States, that matters. Who your local prosecutor is matters if you are in a place that has, as many are attempting to do, criminalized health care providers and are attempting to punish women." Harris was joined at the event by Gov. JB Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis and a number of other abortion rights supporters. They were scheduled to hold a political rally on the UIC campus later in the day. Her appearance came just 53 days before the Nov. 8 election when control of the U.S. House and Senate will be up for grabs and when all state-level elected offices in Illinois will be on the ballot as well. Peter Hancock has the story. National Guard to assist migrant welcoming effort as Pritzker declares disaster Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday that Illinois will continue to welcome migrants bused here from Texas as he blasted that state's governor for relocating them to other cities without sharing information or providing resources. Pritzker said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his agencies have been providing little notice for incoming migrants and has not responded to calls from Illinois' agency heads. That's meant Illinois has had "between three and 24 hours to find shelter for potentially 100 or more people."   He said that has led to "a needlessly last-minute and complex process that is a heartless display of politics over people." "Let me be clear, while other states may be treating these vulnerable families as pawns, here in Illinois, we are treating them as people," he said. "And when a person comes urgently seeking help, here in Illinois, we offer them a helping hand." Pritzker will deploy 75 National Guard members to aid with logistics and will issue a disaster proclamation aimed at expediting the flow of resources. The proclamation enables the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and other state agencies to work with local governments to help migrants access transportation, emergency shelter, food, health screenings, medical assessments, treatments and other care. Jerry Nowicki covered the story. Capitol Recap will return next week. Click Here to Support Capitol News Illinois Copyright © 2022 - Capitolnewsillinois.com, All rights reserved. Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. unsubscribe from this list

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