Illinois Takes First Step in Criminal Justice Debt Reform With Passage of HB 4594- The Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act
On May 31st, HB 4594- The Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act passed the Illinois General Assembly with broad bi-partisan support. It is currently on its way to the Governor’s desk for signing. HB 4594 reforms Illinois’ system of court costs, fines, and fees and reduces the burden of court costs, fines, and fees on Illinoisans who can’t afford to pay them. However, on June 1st, the Illinois Supreme Court handed down a decision in People v. Vara, 2018 IL 121823 that emphasizes how continued advocacy is needed to reduce the impact of court costs, fines, and fees on low-income people accused of crimes.
In 2016, the Illinois Statutory Court Fee Task Force released a report finding that the state’s byzantine system of court costs, fines, and fees wildly varied by county and disproportionately impacted low-income Illinois residents. Legislation to remedy this problem was introduced shortly after the release of the Task Force’s report. Chicago Appleseed is encouraged by the step that Illinois has taken to reforming this system and strongly encourages that the Governor sign this Act into law. However, the law will not be effective until July 1, 2019 and is set to sunset on January 1, 2021. Yet, court costs, fines, and fees are still incorrectly imposed, and implementation of the Act will require further monitoring.
In Illinois, the variation on court costs, fines, and fees isn’t limited to the amounts that are assessed, but also vary on how they are assessed. In Vara, the Illinois Supreme Court decided that improperly imposed assessments by circuit court clerks are precluded from review in appellate courts because those assessments aren’t a part of the “final judgment” of the case (¶ 23). In their dissents, Justice Karmeier and Justice Thomas cited to many years of research and data, the Task Force’s own report, and Chicago Appleseed’s defense practice guide (¶ 36 – ¶ 94). Justice Karmeier stated in his dissent that the problems of Illinois’ court costs, fines, fees system will “spiral out of control” as a result of the majority’s decision, especially because it “would be an undeniable burden on not only defendants, who would have to file a writ of mandamus to handle the other assessments, but also on our judicial system, which would have to expend the resources to hear the same case again” (¶ 48) .
Justice Thomas stated in his dissent that the majority’s holding in Vara, “is also contrary to longstanding authority from this court that (1) attempts by clerks to perform judicial functions are void and unenforceable and [that] (2) the power to correct mistakes of the circuit clerk is inherent in courts of justice” (¶ 93). Vara highlights that even with the passing, and future implementation, of the Act, Illinois’ system of court costs, fines, and fees will still require clarity, transparency, and accountability. As a result, Chicago Appleseed and its collaboration partners will continue to monitor and advocate for sustainable, cohesive reform to the court costs, fines, fees system that disproportionately burdens low-income people accused of crimes in Illinois.