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Today’s number: 92 percent

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The I-Team has learned 92 percent of the inmates in Cook County Jail have not been convicted of the crime they are charged with, compared with 60 percent nationally. Instead they are here waiting, many times for years, to go on trial.

“And the majority of those people who are pre-trial, at least two-thirds of them have money bonds, so they would be eligible for release if they had sufficient money to pay those bonds. It means we are punishing people because they are poor,” said Sharlyn Grace, Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice.

Max Suchan of the Chicago Community Bond Fund said bond hearings are too fast and incomplete.

“The average bond court hearing, according to recent study, was 37 seconds,” Suchan said.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:43 am

Comments

===It means we are punishing people because they are poor===

It could also mean that these people are charged with serious crimes and therefore have an incentive to skip town.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:46 am
=== 92% of jail inmates are not convicted of the crimes they are charged with ===

That’s a fact worth noting when supporting Sheriff Joe Arpaio and harsh jail conditions.

Comment by anon Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:50 am
The problem isn’t the bonds, it’s the glacial pace of the Cook County court system.

Comment by Chicagonk Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:51 am
Okay, wow, right there. Right Fricking there!

That infuriates me.

Yet another way to criminalize poverty.

Comment by Honeybear Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:53 am
People want evidence of institutionalized racism.

Right there.

Comment by Honeybear Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:54 am
47, see Chicago Reporter, 9-1-15. (sorry, can’t link with this gadget).

17% are considered too dangerous to release or a flight risk; 82% can’t come up with cash bond.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:55 am
“This Section shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purpose of relying upon contempt of court proceedings or criminal sanctions instead of financial loss to assure the appearance of the defendant *** Monetary bail should be set only when it is determined that no other conditions of release will reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance in court…” — 725 ILCS 5/110-2 (emphasis added)

Only a madman could believe that judges can make that statutorily-mandated determination in less than a minute.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:56 am
Add this to the sales tax increase, and sugar tax on drinks, which specifically discriminates against the poor, Cook County will become a great case study in history on how a regressive tax system created by Democrats kept incomes low and opportunity to move up the economic ladder impossible.

Comment by Almost the Weekend Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:57 am
“47, see Chicago Reporter, 9-1-15. (sorry, can’t link with this gadget).”

http://chicagoreporter.com/new-law-limits-jail-time-for-poor-who-commit-certain-crimes/

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:58 am
“sugar tax on drinks, which specifically discriminates against the poor”

Citation needed.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:59 am
Does it address the common perception many inmates postpone trial dates so when sentenced they get “time served” and spend it all at Cook County Jail which is closer to their families, instead of the Illinois Department of Corrections?

Comment by Anyone Remember Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:06 am
Drink water instead of sugar drinks anyway. Better for your health and teeth. The tax only makes it more sensible. Believe it or not, there is life without sugar drinks.

Comment by Big Joe Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:08 am
“The problem isn’t the bonds, it’s the glacial pace of the Cook County court system.”

“The average bond court hearing, according to recent study, was 37 seconds.”

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:20 am
===47, see Chicago Reporter,===

I’ve seen about a thousand episodes of Law and Order. I think I have a pretty good grasp of how the bail process works, thank you very much.

Seriously, I appreciate the link (thanks MrJM) and your point, which is solid as usual.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:21 am
Looking forward to the political campaign based around the idea of just letting people accused of a crime go without paying anything, on a promise they’ll come back for trial. How about it, folks? And, before anyone starts shouting at me about marijuana arrests, I am already on record here on these very pages saying we should decriminalize and tax and regulate the holy hell out of it, even more than tobacco.

Comment by JB13 Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:22 am
I wonder about that 82% who can’t come up with the bond $$.
In the case of they guy who is to go on trial for murdering my wife’s daughter - the trial has been delayed for 6 more months. It has been going on 3 years now. His family can’t afford the bond, it’s true, but he has had the trial already scheduled numerous times. Quite frankly it comes down to a quite intelligent defendant and his public defender ‘gaming the system’ and asking for every delay possible. How are those cases enumerated in this?
Some of that 92% are in there of their own accord. That doesn’t make for good political outrage I guess.

Comment by train111 Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:23 am
Is this the result of the Cook County judicial system or are they just caught up in a larger state and national problem?

Comment by Federalist Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:34 am
Only a madman could believe that judges can make that statutorily-mandated determination in less than a minute.

Whoa there, Nelly. What’s missing from the piece? Well, first dozens of PD’s, ASA’s and staff are in court by 6am for a noon call. By the time the judge hears the facts, dozens of man-hours have been expended combing the defendant’s background. That’s the nature of the beast. The prep is unseen. Cases can take months/years to get to trial, yet the typical murder trial is less than 5 days.

I bonds (signature bonds) were at about 20% in 2011. In 2014, that number rose to about 50%. that number is higher today as there are now about a dozen more alternative prosecution courts than there were in 2011. You might not know, but any defendant in a Cook County diversion program is issued a recognizance bond. Bottom line, most people that are in there should be there. However, that’s not to say more can’t be done, and in fact, it is being done.

Take a look at Dart’s and Rep Z’s rocket docket bill from last year (expanded again this year.) If you can’t make a low cash type bond on a non-violent crime, you go to the rocket docket. (Again not mentioned in the article.)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/bond-court-percentage-20150128-story.html#page=1

As far as the glacial pace… The solution is as it always has been; defendant’s who are aggrieved should “demand trial.” Prosecutors and judges cannot demand trail. Obviously, that defense tool is rarely invoked. Many attorneys believe “Delay benefits the defendant.” It’s the reason no one demands trial.

Comment by Lobo Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:37 am
Maybe both sides could agree to dedicate 10% of the money flying around this election season to assist the non-violent offenders make bail? The money irony is ever present. Sigh.

Comment by A guy Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:38 am
The purpose of the jail is to house defendants pending trial. Under these circumstances 92% isn’t a high number. The remaining 8% would be there doing a misdemeanor sentence which cannot exceed 364 days or a period of time for violating probation. Tom Dart has created innovative methods to lower the jail population as well as address the skyrocketing percentage of profoundly mentally ill inmates. The state cannot cut or deny funding for mental health treatment while working toward a significant drop in the population in the Illinois Department of Corrections without an adverse reaction. That reaction is a surge of mentally ill people entering the jail. The disparity of defendants charged with violent offenses is exponentially higher in Cook County than the rest of the state. There has to be a concerted effort to weed out non-violent offenders but there also has to be a recognition that Cook County faces different challenges than other jurisdictions.

Comment by Trapped in the 'burbs Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:57 am
train111, my heart goes out to and your family.

For the non-violent offenders, the question to me is why not treat the unpaid i-bond like a business loss?:
1- what is the per non-violent inmate cost of incarceration per day?
2- when that cost goes above the total bond amount (let’s say after 10 days) there is no longer the possibility for a positive ROI on the bond to the state and the inmate has already served an amount of time commiserate to the cost of the bond, and all but proven that the bond will not be paid after any length of time.

Not only is the indigent defendant being “punished because they are poor,” but taxpayers are footing the bill for a defendant’s supervised room and board. Maybe the solution is an annual $1 Million fund at the county level to go through inmate files and pay bonds that are low cost and less notorious crimes, making sure that the full amount is paid out each year. That would probably be easier than implementing any new law to reform the current practice and definitely be cheaper than indefinite detention. I’m sure that $1 Million will save $10 Million annually. Feel free to play with the numbers as appropriate given the $500 Million spent annually on the corrections budget and $800 Million spent on courts.

Comment by Biker Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:21 pm
“By the time the judge hears the facts, dozens of man-hours have been expended combing the defendant’s background.”

And the judges then review the product of “dozens of man-hours” and make a reasoned determination in 37 seconds?

Self-evident nonsense.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:41 pm
Cash bond should be abolished. It’s a horrible way to condition release from prison. Period.

Risk-based assessments should be the only way someone gets out of prison. Rich people should not buy their way out and poor people should be forced to stay in.

Santa Clara County (California) is pioneering the abolition of cash bonds. Here’s a working group document:

https://www.sccgov.org/sites/ceo/Documents/bail-release-work-group.pdf

Also, at least we don’t have privatized bail bondsmen. That system looks horrific. So whoever abolished that practice in Illinois decades ago…thank you!

Comment by Dan Johnson Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:58 pm
@Lobo - Good information, but don’t you think that there is a solution to the constant trial delays? Judges in Cook hardly ever deny a request for continuance and it’s a well know tactic of defense attorneys to delay hoping witnesses will not show up.

Comment by Chicagonk Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 1:18 pm
For non-violent crimes, they could do a lot more with the ankle monitors and “at home detention” or even authorized travel to work and back home. The devices are not cheap, but compared to housing them in jail it would be a lot cheaper. Also, if they have a job, it would give them a chance to remain employed. That also would save a lot of money spent trying to re-train and help them find employment after they finally get out.

Potential employer: What is this 2-year gap since your last job, and why did you leave that job?

Applicant: I was in jail 2 years awaiting trial, but I was INNOCENT! My previous employer said they couldn’t hold my job open, so they hired someone else to do my job.

Potential employer: Uh-huh, we appreciate your honesty, (we already knew about the jail time as we already did an internet background check on you, as we do with all our applicants). Don’t call us. We will call you if you are selected for a second interview. Security will escort you out.

Comment by DuPage Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 1:20 pm
Let’s not forget the huge # of defense attorney’s who take the cash bond as their fee. Those attorney’s ask for the continuances and support the elected judges who grant them. My guess is there are less than 100 people currently in the CCDOC you’d be comfortable getting released on EM (if there were more the Sheriff would’ve figured out how to get him/her out). They are not there just because they are poor, they are there because they are charged with a violent felony (which most likely will be plead out to a lesser charge with a lower minimum) explaining this misleading headline. How many people have been shot in Chicago this year? Let the few we catch out because of what? If X many have been shot and killed, how many people have been shot at? I’m shocked anyone puts up with this nonsense with the crime problems overriding the South and West sides. Oh no 92%, that’s terrible.

I’m 100% ok legalizing pot, but I’d like to hear some pol say criminals need to be in jail (besides the Donald).

Comment by ranting Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 1:45 pm
“92% of jail inmates are not convicted of the crimes they are charged with”

This requires context. No more than 10% of cases go to court. They plead out and they do so, often times, to lesser charges. Further, the State often will bring a litany of charges only to nolle prosse (i.e. decline to pursue) a bunch of them.

That statistic seems misleading in that it wants the reader to believe that innocent people are being locked up. While of course that does occasionally happen, it is not to the tune of 92%.

Comment by AlfondoGonz Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 2:01 pm
Excuse me, go to trial.

Comment by AlfondoGonz Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 2:03 pm
Self-evident nonsense.

Come to bond court dude. Are you suggesting the judges are “getting it wrong”? That’s the nonsense here. Its a headline statistic with no backbone.

Comment by Lobo Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 2:46 pm
@Lobo - Good information, but don’t you think that there is a solution to the constant trial delays? Judges in Cook hardly ever deny a request for continuance.

Yes, the statute for a continuance actually requires a written motion and affidavit which never happens. I’ve seen more unicorns than I’ve seen written motions for continuance.

(725 ILCS 5/114-4) (from Ch. 38, par. 114-4)
Sec. 114-4. Motion for continuance.
(a) The defendant or the State may move for a continuance. If the motion is made more than 30 days after arraignment the court shall require that it be in writing and supported by affidavit.

The statute is much, much longer, but holding a defense counsel’s feet to the fire is risky. If a judge pushes too hard, too soon, you’re inviting reversible error.

Comment by Lobo y Olla Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 2:52 pm
There is a remedy available to all races and economic backgrounds.

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=072500050K103-5

Comment by Generation X Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 4:30 pm
“That statistic seems misleading in that it wants the reader to believe that innocent people are being locked up.”

Innocent until something… Something until proven guilty… Something until something…

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Friday, Oct 14, 16 @ 6:49 am