Cashless bail sparks spirited debate between Lake County state’s attorney hopefuls

The cashless bail system implemented in Illinois last year through the Pretrial Fairness Act dominated a spirited discussion this week between Democratic Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart and Republican challenger Mary Cole.

“The SAFE-T Act is working,” said Rinehart, who is seeking a second term as the county’s top lawyer. “Violent offenders are now being held in the jail.”

Cole, a former Lake County prosecutor now in private practice, supports the components of the act that training for law enforcement officers and mandate body cameras for police. She also acknowledges the financial inequities inherent in the old system.

However, Cole wants the law tweaked to give judges more discretion in deciding whether to hold people or not.

“If the state doesn’t ask to detain people, they aren’t detained,” she said.

Under the previous system, 70% of defendants charged with child pornography in Lake County were released after posting 10% of their bail, according to Rinehart. Under the new system, Lake County currently holds 100% of defendants facing that charge, he said.

“We are holding more domestic batterers,” he said, adding his office also requests detention in all criminal sexual assault cases.

“Violent crime is down and we are holding the right people in jail,” Rinehart added.

Cole disputed Rinehart’s claim, citing Waukegan shooting statistics her campaign obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. She said between 2018 and 2020, before Rinehart took office, Waukegan had 119 shootings. Between 2021 and 2023, during his tenure, shootings in the city totaled 178, she said.

Rinehart countered that shootings rose 100% between 2019 and 2020 under his predecessor. In 2020, there were 64 nonfatal shootings in Waukegan, according to Rinehart. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of nonfatal shootings dropped to 37. So far this year, there have been 13 nonfatal shootings in the city, he added.

The Lake County coroner's website shows a total of 129 homicides occurred in the county from 2017 to 2020. From 2021 to the present, the coroner's website shows 128 homicide, including 13 so far this year — a figure that doesn’t include potential cases on which the coroner has yet to make a formal determination.

Rinehart noted that 2022’s numbers were inflated by four mass-casualty events that claimed a total of 16 lives, including the fatal shootings at the July 4 parade in Highland Park.

Cole also criticized Rinehart’s office for “undercharging” defendants by approving charges she says are much less severe than the evidence supports. As a result, sentences are lower than they should be, “which also creates issues with recidivism,” Cole said.

She referred to an Antioch case involving two men who had an altercation with bar security guards. One pointed a gun at a guard and pulled the trigger but it misfired. He was charged with weapons offenses, according to authorities. Cole believes the man should have been charged with attempted murder.

Rinehart praised his prosecutors’ “increased solve rates,” saying that so far this year they have a homicide clearance rate of 69% compared to his predecessor’s 55% homicide clearance rate in the last year of his term. Clearance rate refers to the percentage of cases resolved.

He attributes the decrease in violent crime to prevention programs the office initiated in 2022, a violent crime unit established in 2021 and the expansion of a domestic violence unit.

Cole also criticized Rinehart for “legislating,” a reference to his public support for the elimination of cash bail and other SAFE-T Act reforms.

“My opponent went around the state legislating with (Cook County State’s Attorney) Kim Foxx and Gov. JB Pritzker,” she said.

“Legislating is not a job I’m signing up for,” Cole added. “Our job is about enforcing the law.”

Rinehart disputed those claims, and noted that every state’s attorney speaks with legislators and members of the governor’s staff about proposals that would benefit citizens.

“My job is to help people,” he said. “If I can take a phone call from a legislator and I can help people, I’m going to do that.”