[VIDEO] Chicago Appleseed on “In The Loop” Channel 20 (PBS WYCC), discussing Bond Court
I was a panelist on the November 20th episode of “In The Loop” on Channel 20 (PBS Chicago, WYCC) at 7:00pm CST. My co-panelists were former Public Defender of Cook County, Professor Randolph Stone and Commissioner John Fritchey. The topic was reforming Cook County’s Bond Court.
As we’ve discussed previously on this blog (1, 2, 3 ) and in articles in the Daily Law Bulletin, Cook County’s Central Bond Court is in need of major reforms. The federal court overseeing the Cook County Jail population has railed against our Bond Court judges’ “unexplained reluctance” to “set affordable rates of bail.” We have a Bond Court that moves at assembly-line speed (typically spending 30 seconds per defendant) and sets cash bonds at a greater rate than any other large urban jurisdiction based on little to no information about the defendant. It has long been under fire for transforming a system that should be focused on public safety and flight risk to one that is based on the economic status of defendants. Starting last fall, the Illinois Supreme Court has intervened and launched a commission to oversee the development and implementation of a reform plan. Most recently, Judge Evans has announced some features of a reform plan in a Cook County Board budget hearing, though the effects of these initiatives and the results of the Supreme Court Commission remain to be seen. My co-panelists and I discuss the current problems with the Cook County Central Bond Court and discuss the merits of various pathways to reform.
The episode airs again on Sunday (11/23) at 6:30pm, and is available online above and here.