CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) — Thursday marked a two-year milestone since the abolition of cash bail in Illinois after the state Supreme Court affirmed the SAFE-T Act.
Under this law, individuals who are arrested can no longer pay a cash bond to secure their release prior to trial. Instead, a judge assesses whether the individual poses any community risk, determining if detention or release is appropriate before their initial court hearing.
“This approach more accurately evaluates the risk of, ‘Will you show up for your court date?’” explained Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman. “Previously, individuals accused of serious offenses but having substantial financial resources could secure their release from jail.”
Heuerman supported certain components of the legislation when it was implemented in 2023. Since then, he has observed a significant reduction in the number of inmates at his facility.
“There is no question we have significantly fewer inmates in custody today than we did two years ago,” Heuerman said.
He noted that the decline might be attributed to the increased crime rates nationwide in 2023. However, this trend is something that other sheriffs are noticing as well. Coles County Sheriff Kent Martin reported that his jail housed an average of 95 inmates daily prior to the elimination of cash bail.
“In October of 23, when that went into effect, that number dropped down into the 40’s,” Martin said.
But now, the number is starting to rise again.
“It seems to be that we have a higher number of inmates who have committed an offense when they’re out on pre-trial release,” Martin said.
He said that’s exactly why he was against the act two years ago. Now, his office is running into another issue with the loss of cash bail.
“That money used to get forwarded applied to fines and costs and that’s not happening now so it’s also impacting our revenue streams,” Martin said.
