THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...How cashless bail rollout went in Illinois...Chicago moving forward with plan to put migrants in tent camps...Assault weapon registry
September 21, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
The Cubs are barely hanging on to the final spot in the National League Wild Card race with ten games to play. And they’re playing like junk. Not a great time to be a Chicago/Illinois sports fan.
There’s nothing on the Governor’s public schedule today. His only public appearance the past 13 days has been an abortion panel in New York.
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YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Courts in counties across Illinois take first steps into a world without cash bail (WBEZ)
Illinois’ first day without cash bail got off to a slow start outside the Chicago metro area on Monday, with at least one county still using the old system for pretrial decision making. In Chicago and its suburbs, court proceedings took much longer than before, but the new process ran relatively smoothly.
For more than two years, Illinois has been preparing for — and battling over — the end of cash bail, a change that makes Illinois the first state in the U.S. to take money out of pretrial decisions on detainment and release. On Monday, the new regime got underway.
In counties outside Chicago, some of the court officials tasked with enacting the new system were vehemently opposed to the change. Many downstate prosecutors joined an unsuccessful legal challenge to the law.
In west suburban DuPage County, the state’s second-most populated judicial circuit, 22 pretrial defendants arrested from Sunday through early Monday were brought one-by-one to a newly remodeled courtroom near the sheriff’s office in Wheaton.
Of those, 14 faced charges of domestic battery — a misdemeanor — or violation of a protection order in a domestic violence case. For other defendants, charges ranged from retail theft to aggravated driving with a suspended or revoked license.
If the proceedings had been bond hearings like those held through Sunday, according to DuPage County public defender Jeff York, “we probably would have been done within an hour for sure. We would have had 5 to 10 minutes with our client and no evidence discovery.”
But Monday’s hearings, which began at 8:30 a.m., did not finish until around 4:30 p.m.
Related: Bail reform sees a smooth rollout in Cook County (Chicago Sun-Times)
As SAFE-T Act goes live, murder suspects previously eligible to post bond are held in jail (Capitol News Illinois)
In Domestic Violence Court, promising first day of bail reform as judge works ‘few kinks out of the system’ (Chicago Sun-Times)
Chief judge in St. Clair County gives verdict on first wave of hearings after cash bail system ends (Belleville News-Democrat)
Madison County stalking suspect first defendant held under new court rules, end of cash bail (Edwardsville Intelligencer)
Cashless bail 2 days into DeKalb County: New hearings bring new era for pretrial detainment in court (Shaw Media)
Editorial: The stakes are high as Illinois ends cash bail (Chicago Sun-Times)
City signs $29.3 million contract to build ‘winterized base camps’ for migrants (Chicago Sun-Times)
Chicago has taken the first concrete step to deliver on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s controversial plan to get more than 2,000 migrants off the floors of police stations, O’Hare and Midway airports and into giant tent cities he prefers to call “winterized base camps” before temperatures plummet.
Piggybacking onto an existing state procurement, the city has signed a $29.3 million contract with GardaWorld Federal Services LLC for “migrant temporary housing.”
“The purpose of this Purchase Order is to allow the City to purchase from the State Contract temporary housing solutions and related services … to provide critical services to asylum seekers,” according to the contract, signed Sept. 12.
“The City reserves the right to utilize other contractors and/or City employees at any sites set up as temporary housing solutions pursuant to this Purchase Order.”
The contract mentions no specific sites for the base camps, and none has been chosen, according to mayoral press secretary Ronnie Reese.
The contract also includes no specific timetable for erecting the tent cities.
“It’s got to be done pretty quickly if it’s gonna get done before the weather breaks,” Reese told the Sun-Times. “The goal is to decompress the police stations as soon as possible. We know that’s not sustainable.”
This remains a terrible idea.
Related: Mayor Brandon Johnson quietly signs $29 million deal with private security firm for asylum-seeker ‘base camps’ despite company’s work relocating migrants from Florida (Chicago Tribune)
New State Police rules for assault weapons permits will take effect Oct. 1 (Capitol News Illinois)
Illinoisans who own weapons that can no longer be purchased or sold in the state under its new assault weapons ban will soon be able to register those weapons so they can legally keep them.
The law, officially known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act, bans the sale and possession of firearms defined as “assault weapons” as well as assault weapon attachments, .50 caliber rifles, .50 caliber cartridges and high-capacity magazines.
However, the law provides an exception for Illinoisans who already owned such items before it went into effect. Those people are required to submit an endorsement affidavit through their Firearm Owner’s Identification Card account before Jan. 1, 2024.
The Illinois State Police filed emergency rules with the secretary of state on Monday to implement that portion of the assault weapons ban beginning next month.
ISP will begin accepting affidavits online starting Oct. 1.
Related: DeVore seeks reconsideration of assault weapons ban while new ISP rules effective Oct. 1 (State Journal-Register)
SO FAR THIS WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
Some Confusion, Growing Pains on First Day Without Cash Bail
Retired Winnebago County Judge Likely Entering Congressional Race
Opinion: Democrats Folly Blaming Republicans for Governor's Prisoner Review Board Nominees
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Durbin, Vance lock horns, derailing Illinois' U.S. attorney pick (Crain’s Chicago Business)
40 years ago, Illinois recognized the collective bargaining rights of teachers (Chicago Sun-Times)
House Democrats drop PR firm that helped Madigan on #MeToo allegations while also working with accuser (Chicago Tribune)
What’s the future of parole and clemency in Illinois? (WBEZ)
Centuries after Native American remains were dug up, a new law returns them for reburial in Illinois (Associated Press)
Chicago sues Monsanto for PCB pollution over decades (Chicago Sun-Times)
John Deere Harvester Works laying off 225 employees in East Moline (Quad-City Times)
Chicago inspector general’s office seizes computers from city treasurer’s office (Chicago Tribune)
'The Bear' Effect: How a TV hit is reviving Chicago's gastro-tourism economy (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Proposal to raise Chicago’s minimum wage for tipped workers advances in City Council (Chicago Tribune)
Chicago elected officials get a pay bump. But the mayor’s administration won’t say yet who accepted it. (WBEZ)
Top deputy to Gov. J.B. Pritzker named to head host committee for 2024 Democratic convention (Chicago Tribune)
Democrats look to make downstate gains while Republicans go after Chicago suburbs in 2024 (State Journal-Register)
Democrat from Cortland to challenge Jeff Keicher for Illinois House 70th District in 2024 (Shaw Media)
Editorial: What’s the best four-year college in Illinois? It depends. (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: Redevelop parking lots at White Sox stadium (Chicago Sun-Times)
Enyart: Planned cut to VA funding for ambulances would harm our nation’s veterans (Chicago Tribune)
Vallas: How Chicago could fund affordable housing without hiking its real estate transfer tax (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Repealing this ancient tax will put cleaner, safer trucks on Illinois highways (Crain’s Chicago Business)
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