When state lawmakers made Illinois the first state in the nation to end cash bail, they ramped up the pressure considerably on judges to protect the public from violent offenders when they’re charged with crimes.
The SAFE-T Act made it judges’ sole responsibility to decide whether an accused criminal should be imprisoned while awaiting their day in court. And if not? What was the recourse for judges who weren’t prepared to allow someone so accused to roam free without conditions?
Home confinement, monitored electronically by the county, was the answer. Since the landmark law’s passage several years ago, Cook County Circuit Court judges have resorted increasingly to electronic monitoring to ensure defendants appear in court when they’re called and commit no crimes in the meantime. At last count, there were about 3,600 people on electronic monitoring in Cook County, nearly double the 2,000 in 2018…