State of Illinois appeals decision blocking elimination of cash bail

Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is seeking to overturn a judge's ruling blocking a new state law supported by Gov. J.B. Pritzker that eliminates cash bail.

Raoul on Friday asked the state's supreme court to reverse a decision issued earlier this week by a Kankakee County, Ill., circuit judge finding that the bail provisions of the SAFE-T Act violate the separation of powers clause of the Illinois Constitution

Pritzker on Wednesday called the ruling by Circuit Judge Thomas Cunnington a "setback for the principles we fought to protect through the passage of the SAFE-T Act" and vowed to appeal.

"The General Assembly and advocates worked to replace an antiquated criminal justice system with a system rooted in equity and fairness," he said. "We cannot and should not defend a system that fails to keep people safe by allowing those who are a threat to their community the ability to simply buy their way out of jail."

The law's provisions were set to take effect statewide on Sunday, but Cunnington's ruling means its implementation will be blocked 65 counties that had sued to block that provision. The reform can still go ahead in 37 other counties not part of the lawsuit.

On Friday, Raoul asked the state's high court to reverse the decision.

The SAFE-T Act, which Pritzker signed into law in 2021, also includes body camera requirements for police departments and new police training mandates. Those will go into effect on Jan. 1.

Raoul on Wednesday slammed the last-minute objections to a law Pritzker signed nearly two years ago, noting that "my office received less than one hour's notice of hearings in some counties and no notice at all in others. ... To say that this is an abuse of the judicial process is an understatement."

Democrats hold a 5-2 majority on the Illinois Supreme Court.