Bond reform at Cook County Jail succeeding; now it’s Illinois’ turn

Lawyers' Forum

By Matthew Piers and Sharlyn Grace

Matthew Piers is a shareholder of the law firm Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym Ltd. Sharlyn Grace is the executive director of Chicago Community Bond Fund.

Posted July 25, 2019 9:27 AM

Updated August 9, 2019 3:57 PM

This article was updated to correct statistics for Illinois' pretrial detention rates.Last winter, the number of people in Cook County Jail dropped to around 5,500 during a regular day, the lowest number in more than 30 years. This is because Cook County has been quietly leading the way in pretrial justice reform.In September 2017, Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans issued General Order 18.8A limiting the use of cash bail.The circuit court’s Pretrial Division allows judges to set minimum cash bail …

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