Illinois Becomes First State to Eliminate Cash Bail As Pre-Trial Fairness Act Takes Effect…What Could Possibly Go Wrong???…

by Jessica D’Onofrio and Sarah Schulte at ABC 7 Chicago

The Pre-Trial Fairness Act, part of the SAFE-T Act that eliminates cash bail, goes into effect Monday morning.

Some are celebrating it as a victory, while others said it will cause great harm.

Local county and state elected officials along with several advocacy groups gathered Monday morning on the steps of the Leighton Criminal Courthouse to celebrate the end of cash bail in Illinois.

“So today in Illinois, we mark where people will be able to keep their jobs, stay in their homes, maintain custody of their children while they await their trial,” Tanya Watkins with Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation said…