Virtual panel on elimination of cash bail set for Wednesday

Jana Wiersema, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·1 min read

Apr. 22—URBANA — Community members will have a chance to learn more about criminal justice reforms at a virtual event this week.

The League of Women Voters of Champaign County will hold its final Keeping It Local Zoom event of the spring on Wednesday. The event is scheduled to run from 7 to 8 p.m., and the topic is "Eliminating Cash Bail — How it is Working in Champaign County."

Illinois became the first state to eliminate cash bail. The change, part of the 2021 Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act, went into effect in September 2023.

Speakers at the virtual event will include Champaign County Public Defender Elisabeth Pollock, Regional Chief of the Office of Statewide Pretrial Services Jason Hamann and Carol Leff, former director of the Cook County Special Bail Project and president of the ACLU's Champaign County chapter. Leff will discuss efforts to monitor implementation of the SAFE-T Act in Champaign County courts before and after the "no cash bail" section went into effect.

"As the public defender, Pollock will assess the many changes in Champaign County brought about by the law that include but go beyond 'no cash bail' such as elimination of the cost of electronic monitoring paid by the released person, shorter time frames for speedy trials, and the ability of defendants to request new hearings on the issue of release," organizers said.

Additionally, Hamann will discuss changes in what pretrial services are now available to individuals released before trial.

There will be a time for attendees to ask questions about the implementation and impact of the SAFE-T Act in Champaign County. The event is free and open to the public. A Zoom link is available at .