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Unconventional Dart asks for new power to help inmates get out of jail

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* Most politicians would run away from this idea so fast you’d miss it if you blinked. One mistake and, poof, there goes the career. So, kudos to Sheriff Dart for asking for this authority…

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart plans to push for legislation allowing his office to seek lower bails for financially strapped detainees.

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, says he’ll work to amend Illinois law to add the sheriff’s office to the list of parties that can seek a reduction in bail — which already includes prosecutors and defense attorneys. […]

Ford called the current bail system unfair because those with access to money can post the necessary bond to go free while awaiting trial but indigent people can’t.

He said he thinks the courts should support the legislation because “it still leaves it up to the discretion of the judges.”

Cara Smith, the sheriff’s policy chief, said 1,024 “turnarounds” were held in the jail last year — people who’d spent so much time in custody that, once they were sentenced to state prison, they already had served every day of their prison sentence. In fact, on average, they each served 2½ months of extra time, according to Smith. Most of them had been jailed for nonviolent crimes.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 12:02 pm

Comments

This is a band-aid approach to a larger problem, which is a court system that can’t function properly. Alas, we had two opportunities to fix it this year with a new Circuit Clerk and a new Chief Judge, and both times we ended up with more of the same.

Comment by Just Me Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 12:07 pm
–Cara Smith, the sheriff’s policy chief, said 1,024 “turnarounds” were held in the jail last year — people who’d spent so much time in custody that, once they were sentenced to state prison, they already had served every day of their prison sentence. In fact, on average, they each served 2½ months of extra time, according to Smith. Most of them had been jailed for nonviolent crimes.–

Kudos to Dart is right for having the guts to address this abomination.

I guess if Chief Judge Evans couldn’t find time in his busy schedule to address the problem in his 15 years running the show, the sheriff has to step up.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 12:08 pm
How much taxpayer money would be saved if Dart could release pretrial detainees in a more efficient manner? If someone posts bail for a person in custody, it sometimes takes eighteen to twenty hours for the clerks and deputies to locate a detainee and release him. It is so bad that the jail developed a policy to hold carfare for the persons to be released since the lengthy delays often meant that the parties posting bail would not wait to drive them home from 26th and California.

Comment by Gates Brown Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 12:12 pm
Sheriff Dart is displaying moral leadership and courage - once again - as he transforms the jail with innovative policies. You’re right, Rich, most politicians would run away from doing the right thing like this.

Comment by Downstate Dem Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 12:32 pm
If this is politically risky, does this mean Dart isn’t running for statewide office?

Comment by Downstate Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 12:35 pm
won’t judges just make higher bails if they know the sheriff will get them out and take the heat for the inevitable crimes committed while on bail?

Comment by hmmmm Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 12:37 pm
@hmmmm

Dart is asking for standing in court to petition the judges to lower bond on specific defendants or simply release them without bail — in other words, he’s giving the judges an out. They won’t catch much heat if the defendant commits a new crime while out on bond, Dart will because he suggested the defendant be released.

If we had a reasonable and properly functioning judiciary in Cook County, this wouldn’t be necessary.

Comment by Finbar Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 12:55 pm
The Bail system was created to allow the rich to get out of jail and for those in authority to abuse the system for financial gain. It’s a horrible system that needs reform and exploits the unfortunate.

Comment by Ahoy! Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 1:03 pm
If the Cook County Court system gets any more lenient, you’ll be looking at 1000 homicides a year. Violent crimes are routinely pled down to get easy convictions which disguise the true nature of the offenses.

Comment by weltschmerz Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 1:04 pm
We could go all out Finland and make fines a percentage of the criminal’s income.

Comment by Cheryl44 Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 1:13 pm
Violent crimes are routinely pled down to get easy convictions which disguise the true nature of the offenses.

Um, No. cite?

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 1:15 pm
Maybe Dart can get law changed to start petitioning prosecutor on which crimes to charge. Why waste time with lower bail, no files will reduce the jail population much quicker

Comment by Generation X Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 1:18 pm
@Anonymous Google is your friend.

Comment by Chicagonk Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 1:19 pm
Unconscionable that people are waiting in jail so long that by the time they go to trial, they’ve already served more time in jail than the statutory punishment for the offense. It’s beyond disgraceful. There’s zero excuse if we want to hold ourselves up to the rest of the world as a beacon of justice and fairness, which we seem to do on a regular basis regardless of facts and situations like this.

Comment by Oliver Wendell Holmes Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 1:24 pm
A bigger problem is perhaps the court systems failure to provide a “speedy trial” for the detainees who are costing the county a fortune by these overstays. The public defender costs will be the same if its quick or slow. Is the problem poor productivity by the judges or prosecutors?

Comment by Illinois Bob Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 1:28 pm
@Anonymous Google is your friend.

I don’t run to do stupid tasks. The claim is Cook pleads violent crimes down to get easy convictions.

I say BS. Ball is in weltschmertz’s court

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 2:12 pm
Sheriff Dart again provides leadership and the will to fix the problem a broken judiciary that fails to year after year. He and Rep. Ford should be commended for looking to solutions for the voiceless.

Comment by prairiestatedem Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 2:48 pm
Illinois Bob - Generally, the defense. If prosecutors don’t comply with the Speedy Trial Act, case dismissed. There is an urban legend that many of the “turnarounds” will serve extra time if they don’t go to a “downstate” prison.

Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 2:52 pm
When I was practicing in one of the collar counties, there were regular emergency* bond hearings, at which the jail director would recommend people for lower bonds or I-bonds. So I don’t see the big deal here.

* Yes, I know that sounds like a contradiction, but the jail got overcrowded so frequently that these were, indeed, held pretty reqularly.

Comment by JoanP Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 2:56 pm
Dart is a special public servant. Always has been. He’s driven by good policy. Good for Tom. And Good on Tom.

Comment by A guy Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 3:02 pm
In the late 1980’s, when overcrowding at Cook County Jail was much worse than it is today, a federal judge ordered the Sheriff to release inmates on “I-Bonds” if he didn’t have a bed for them in the jail. Thousands were given get-out-of-jail-free cards.

That was kind of a seat-of-the-pants plan. Dart’s proposal seems to allow for a much more deliberative approach in which the sheriff, judge, state’s attorney and public defender all re-consider the bail amount of inmates in open court after they’ve been locked-up. Makes sense. It does put Dart in some political jeopardy, but much less jeopardy than previous sheriffs faced with the I-Bond policy.

Comment by History Lesson Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 3:11 pm
I second wordslinger and a Guy

Comment by steve schnorf Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 3:21 pm
@Anyone Remember

=Illinois Bob - Generally, the defense.=

Anyone, that seems to be more correctable than this Dart nonsense. Can’t the court appoint counsel for the defense for those unable to afford counsel? It would seem that having defensive staff to move things forward quickly would save a bundle and wouldn’t cost any more to have it now or later, possibly more putting it off because of all the wasted time in continuances. Lots of lawyers working cheap and unemployed right now. It would seem to be cheaper and cost effective to solve THIS problem rather than add so much patronage staff for Dart to get this bond deal taken care of.

Ooops. I think I just found out the reason why Dart isn’t doing the right thing here….

Comment by Illinois Bob Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 3:56 pm
Illinois Bob - You mean the overwhelmed public defenders? Ultimately that decision is the defendants, and for years one has heard they will take longer if it is all at the Cook County jail, a CTA ride for family and friends.

Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 4:43 pm
Tom Dart is the rare elected official who does the right thing for the right reason.

Comment by Trapped in the 'burbs Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 5:06 pm
Can someone please talk Tom Dart into running for governor?

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 6:35 pm
I like Tom Dart, but if he wants the prerogatives of the State’s Attorney, then he ought to run for that office.

Comment by Brendan Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 8:57 pm
Laughably stupid. Does Sheriff Dart know that we already have extremely high crime rates with repeat criminals routinely released and committing more crime?

Comment by Ron Monday, Oct 17, 16 @ 9:08 pm