Money will no longer determine whether someone in Illinois stays in jail while facing charges starting Jan. 1, a monumental shift cheered by criminal justice advocates and denounced by prosecutors who have filed dozens of lawsuits as the state prepares to be the first in the U.S. to entirely eliminate cash bail.
The law, known as the SAFE-T Act, will eliminate cash bail come January. But it’s likely the law will see an overhaul of its own or at least, tweaks before then.