Steering the Debate

Center for Criminal Justice steers national bail reform debate

AS THE NATIONAL DEBATE OVER BAIL REFORM CONTINUES, Loyola’s Center for Criminal Justice (CCJ) remains a key resource for objective, unbiased research.

In September 2023, Illinois became the first state to eliminate cash bail, through the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA), meaning that most criminal defendants would remain free with court conditions, rather than be in jail until they could post bond.

Advocates said the PFA addresses equity issues; opponents said it would create a spike in crime.
Long before the PFA went into effect, Loyola’s CCJ was doing research to examine bond court outcomes, pretrial detention, and jail populations.

In their report on the first year of the law, the CCJ found the number of people in Illinois jails fell by 1,888 since the bail reform took effect, with a 14 percent decline in urban counties and a 25 percent decline in rural ones.

What hasn’t happened, however, is a rise in crime. In a report published in September, CCJ’s early research shows that crime has not increased in Illinois since the PFA was implemented.

“We’re not saying that the Pretrial Fairness Act reduced crime. But this at least shows that crime has not gone up.” David Olson with Don Stemen, codirectors of the CCJ, Citing Research on the Criminal Justice System In Illinois