Illinois no cash bail: After Safe-T Act takes effect, states attorneys voice concerns

DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) -- Less than a week after the Safe-T Act took effect, eliminating cash bail in Illinois, some state's attorneys are voicing concerns about defendants being released pretrial.

Security cameras captured video of a man with a sledgehammer shattering the window at a high-end boutique in Hinsdale. He and five other men are then seen walking into the store and then leaving with merchandise.

In all they stole about $68,000 worth of merchandise, and police said the man who broke the window cut his finger, leaving blood DNA. Police said they matched that DNA to 30-year-old Terry Johnson, who is on parole for armed robbery and aggravated battery.

"He's a threat to the community," said DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin.

When he appeared before a DuPage County judge this week, Johnson was able to walk free without posting cash bond.

"The frustration in that case is the judge felt his hands were tied because of the law," Berlin said.

Berlin said this is one of 30 cases this week where his office asked the judge to detain the suspect, but because cash bond has been eliminated about half the suspects walked free, though many have conditions like home monitoring. Several state's attorneys in Illinois said they have serious concerns.

"It's the Illinois legislature that is making decisions as to who is being released as opposed to the judges," said McHenry County State's Attorney Patrick Kenneally.

Critics of the law says it takes discretion away from judges, forcing them to release suspects they believe are dangerous. But supporters say it's working as intended, keeping people who have not yet had a trial from being locked up simply because they cannot afford bond.

"A practice that has kept human beings in cages before they've had their civil right to a trial simply because they are poor," said Tanya Watkins of Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation.

Berlin said he believes it's still too early to know whether the new law is working. In the meantime, he said he believes it's just a matter of time until a dangerous criminal commits another serious crime after being released because of the new law.