Illinois supreme court halts end to cash bail

On New Year’s Day, a dangerous but hilariously misnamed new law was set to take effect in Illinois. The “SAFE-T Act” was scheduled to alter the state’s handling of criminal prosecutions in ways that would make it much harder to prosecute and imprison criminals. One of the key facets of the bill would bring an end to cash bail in most cases, allowing even more suspects to be immediately put back out onto the streets after being detained. Prosecutors from across the state sued to prevent the rule from going into effect and last Wednesday a county judge found the law to be unconstitutional and barred it from taking effect in the counties where those prosecutors work. On Saturday, the state supreme court upheld that ruling and halted the law from taking effect across all of Illinois. An appeal will be filed in short order. (WGN TV)Read More