Springfield ACLU hosts forum on state’s Pretrial Fairness Act

Posted on October 13, 2022
Proponents of the Pretrial Fairness Act, which takes effect January First in Illinois and eliminates cash bail, want to do some myth-busting. (Photo courtesy American Civil Liberties Union)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – There will be no Jan. 1 jailbreak. Police can still arrest trespassers.

Those are a couple of takeaways from a forum the Springfield chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union hosted Wednesday evening to, as organizers put it, be “myth busters” about the Pretrial Fairness Act, which come New Year’s will end cash bail.

“What you heard” from cash bail proponents, said Springfield chapter president Ken Page, “is that in the dead of night, the Black Caucus came down from Chicago and passed this. That is not true. That is really not true, and we know that is not true.”

Teresa Haley, president of the NAACP in both Springfield and statewide, asked, “Do you know anybody who is currently incarcerated? Who has not gone to trial yet?”

She answered her own question by saying some of her relatives fit that description and have lost everything in life: “They’ve lost their family, they’ve lost their jobs, they’ve lost their dignity, because they have been behind bars for so long” and cannot pay their way out.

“They deserve to live,” said Haley.

Springfield area Republicans, led by State Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield) and Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, have their say about the new law next Wednesday.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…