5 Year Anniversary of Pretrial Justice Reform in Cook County

 5 Year Anniversary of Pretrial Justice Reform in Cook County

Public Defender, Advocates celebrate 5 years after
the General Order 18.8A helped decrease the number of
people incarcerated pretrial without increasing violence

Cook County, Ill. – Cook County Public Defender
Sharone Mitchell, the Coalition to End Money Bond and
Solidarity Cinema gathered with community members
to celebrate the five-year anniversary of Cook County’s
first step on the road of pretrial justice reform: the issuance
of General Order 18.8A by Chief Judge Timothy
Evans, a court rule instructing judges to set monetary
bonds only in amounts that accused people could afford
to pay.

Advocates celebrated with a community meal, a
Teach In about the Pretrial Fairness Act and a film
screening.

 “The General Order has been a significant step in
the right direction,” said Sharone Mitchell, Cook County
Public Defender. “Over the past five years, the result
has been tens of thousands fewer people jailed while
awaiting trial in Cook County. Multiple studies have
shown that releasing more people pretrial has not led
to increased rates of new arrests or missed court dates.
We now know that we can release more people and that
overwhelmingly, they will succeed.”

 A study by Loyola University Chicago found that
the General Order had “no effect on the odds of new
violent criminal activity of defendants released pretrial.”
Additionally, the JFA Institute found there was an
overall decrease in the percentage of people rearrested
while on pretrial release compared to before the General
Order, including a decrease in the percentage of people
rearrested on charges involving allegations of violence.

Two separate studies, “Shifting Sands” and “Protecting
Pretrial Freedom,” conducted by the Coalition to
End Money Bond found that that the number of people
in Cook County Jail declined by more than 40%and between
January and June 2018, while the court order was
newly in effect, violent crime in Chicago declined by
almost 8% when compared to the same period in 2017.

“Eliminating money bond and not allowing the size
of someone’s bank account determine who is jailed and
who is released pretrial is a real tangible way we can reduce
harm done to Black and Brown communities while
also making those same communities safer,” said Tanya
Watkins of Southsiders Organizing for Unity and Liberation
(SOUL). “Hundreds of people every year are faced
with a decision of either languishing in jail because they
cannot afford bond or pleading guilty in order to get
out faster and be able to support their families. This is
the choice facing and criminalizing the poor, while the
rich pay bond and await trial from the comfort of their
homes. That’s not justice.”

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