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Cook County bail changes could mean more defendants heading home

Starting in September, more Cook County defendants awaiting trial could be heading home instead of passing the time behind bars.

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans this week ordered Cook County judges set a bail that defendants can afford to pay at the time of their bail hearings. The order taking effect Sept. 18 applies to defendants charged with felonies who don't pose a public threat.

"Defendants should not be sitting in jail awaiting trial simply because they lack the financial resources to secure their release," said Evans in a prepared statement. "If they are not deemed a danger to any person or the public, my order states that they will receive a bail they can afford."

Verifying a defendant's income will fall to pretrial service employees, said Patrick Milhizer, of the chief judge's office. Before a bond hearing, pretrial services will contact defendants' employers to confirm employment and income if necessary, Milhizer said.

The new order - which takes effect Sept. 18 for felonies and Jan. 1 for misdemeanors - allows judges to consider the nature of the crime and whether the defendant poses a threat to the community, in addition to the defendant's criminal background. Injuries sustained by an accuser can also be taken into account.

Judges who find a defendant poses a threat may order him or her held without bond.

As they have in the past, judges can opt to release defendants on individual-recognizance bonds or on electronic monitoring, which do not require posting money to be released.

Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli and Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx commended the new orders.

"There are too many of my clients in the Cook County Jail simply because they are poor and cannot afford bail," said Campanelli in a prepared statement, adding these orders "should result in more of my clients being released so they can return to their families, jobs and communities."

"Far too many people have been detained pretrial because they are poor and unable to post even minimal amounts for bond," said Foxx in a prepared statement, adding there is no "clear relationship between the posting of a cash bond and securing the safety of the community."

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