The Abolition of Cash Bail in Illinois: How a Statewide Reform Differentially Impacts Rural and Urban Communities

• In Event: Advances in Rural Criminology: Courts and Corrections in Rural Communities

Abstract

Through the passage the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) in 2023, Illinois abolished cash bail, imposed a variety of reforms intended to make pretrial processes fairer and more thorough, and limits what offenses are eligible for pretrial detention. As in most states, Illinois’ justice system (e.g., courts, prosecutors, defense, jails) is primarily organized at the county level. As the first state to eliminate cash bail, this policy offers a unique opportunity to examine the impact of the same policy across diverse counties, including the 20 urban and 82 rural counties in Illinois. Using a mixed methods approach, this paper examines the degree to which these pretrial reforms had a differential impact in rural communities versus urban areas in terms of pretrial practices, pretrial detention/jail populations, reduced revenue from bond fees, indigent defense representation, pretrial supervision, and failure to appear/new charges during pretrial release. The implications for policy and practice will be discussed.

Authors

• David E. Olson, Loyola University Chicago

• Don Stemen, Loyola University Chicago

• Patrick Griffin, Loyola University Chicago