Bail Reform Implementation

There was a bit of grumbling about Chicago causing trouble for downstaters, but overall that seems to be the long and short of the Bail Reform Act here in Champaign county. From the N-G article on it today:

 “Bail reform is legislation designed for Cook County, and the rest of us have to say, ‘OK, OK,’” said Champaign County Presiding Judge Tom Difanis.

A Chicago Tribune story published in June, when the law was signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner, said the legislation reflected a general consensus among criminal justice advocates, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx — that the state’s cash bail system is unfair to poor people.

For example, the story cited 2015 numbers from Dart that showed more than 1,000 inmates in his jail had served more time in custody than they were ultimately sentenced to because of their inability to post bail.

Difanis noted that laws sometimes get passed affecting the whole state to serve the interests of Cook County.

“It fixes problems we don’t have,” said Difanis, noting that the Urbana jail population recently has been as low as 130. “We have a capacity of over 300.”
...
Difanis contends — and jail administrator Capt. Karee Voges agrees — that Champaign County judges usually set reasonable bonds from the get-go so that defendants without means can be released soon after arrest. Judges are painfully aware that Sheriff Dan Walsh doesn’t want taxpayers incurring the expense and potential liability of housing a shoplifter alongside an accused murderer.

The Bail Reform Act came up recently at the Champaign County Board where there was a presentation and some Q&A about what Champaign already had implemented and the overall limited changes the new State law would have here. Here's the relevant excerpt from that meeting and links to the presentation:

The board then moved on to the Bail Reform Act presentation by States Attorney Julia Rietz and Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Allen Jones. It is state legislation that affects the county in some ways, but in others the county had already implemented reforms on their own. The presentation video is twenty five minutes (direct link here) followed by questions from the board beginning at roughly the hour mark here.