THE ILLINOIZE: Inside a suburban courtroom on the first day without cash bail...Top GOP candidate emerging in 17th...House Dems drop PR firm

September 19, 2023

Good morning, subscribers.

There’s going to be lots of hooting and hollering over implementation of the SAFE-T Act and end of cash bail in the state yesterday. You’ll notice in our story below, we didn’t quote any political figures, just people directly involved in the court system. I think it was important, at least yesterday, to hear how things went first hand. (And I sat in bond court in DuPage County for six hours, so I wanted to see it with my own eyes, too.)

Politicians will bluster, but we’re going to stick to facts on this one.

There are 35 days before the legislature returns for the fall veto session. There are 69 days to the first day of petition filing. We have 182 days to the March primary and 413 days until the 2024 General Election.

Governor Pritzker will join Hillary Clinton and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer for a panel discussion on abortion at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York at 1:30.

Let’s get to it.

SOME CONFUSION, GROWING PAINS ON FIRST DAY WITHOUT CASH BAIL

When the doors opened a little after 8:30 Monday morning to the DuPage County Courtroom previously known as Bond Court, a gaggle of lawyers scrambled around computers and files to prepare for 22 cases.

It marked a new day in Illinois courts, ushering in a new system eliminating cash bail and forcing a choice between releasing a defendant or holding them until trial.