BLUEROOMSTREAM.COM
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton testifies before a joint legislative committee hearing in Chicago, arguing that thousands of Illinoisans are held behind bars simply because they cannot afford their bail.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
The criminal justice reform bill signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker Monday is groundbreaking in its scope. It ends cash bail, expands detainee rights and requires body cameras on all police officers.
But the governor’s signature is also just the beginning of a transition that will take years, and there’s no guarantee that all of the changes promised in the massive bill will become reality as they were written.