Illinois Supreme Court halts ‘SAFE-T’ cash bail act until further notice

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - The Illinois Supreme Court halted the abolition of the cash bail system in the entire state. This comes after just one day before it was supposed to take effect.

The Safe-T will go into effect on Sunday, January 1 which was announced this evening. The Pretrial Fairness Act portion of the bill will not go into effect until further notice. This is to “maintain consistent pretrial procedures throughout Illinois.”

Earlier this week, a Kankakee County judge ruled the no cash bail portion of the act to be unconstitutional. Counties like Winnebago and Stephenson, which are involved in the lawsuit, are under orders that they do not have to implement the act at the Illinois Supreme Court until further notice.

Governor J.B. Pritzker said in a statement that he is confident the act will be found constitutional and says he looks forward to the justices review, according to the Chicago Sun Times.