Illinois Supreme Court upholds law eliminating cash bail, sets Sept. 18 as start date for new system

The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that eliminating cash bail for defendants awaiting trial does not violate the Illinois Constitution, allowing a historic change to the criminal justice system to go forward over objections from county prosecutors who challenged the law.

Tuesday’s 5-2 Supreme Court decision came more than four months after the high court heard arguments in the case in mid-March, when a coalition of state’s attorneys argued that the legislature overstepped its authority in approving the law. The court’s decisions split along party lines, with the two Republican justices, David Overstreet and Lisa Holder White, dissenting.

“The Illinois Constitution of 1970 does not mandate that monetary bail is the only means to ensure criminal defendants appear for trials or the only means to protect the public,” Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis wrote in the majority opinion. “Our constitution creates a balance between the individual rights of defendants and the individual rights of crime victims.”