The Illinois Supreme Court has announced today the creation of the Pretrial Release Appeals Task Force (Task Force). As a result of the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act in September 2023, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of appeals from pretrial release decisions by the circuit courts. The Task Force will convene to thoroughly review pretrial release appeals and their impact on the caseloads in each of the five districts of the Illinois Appellate Court.

The Task Force will consult with any interested stakeholders, including but not limited to the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the State’s Attorney Appellate Prosecutor, the Office of the State Appellate Defender, the offices of the five Appellate Court clerks; and the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association. The Task Force will hold its first meeting within the next 14 days and will issue a report of its findings and recommendations to the Supreme Court within the next 45 days.

The Chair of the Task Force will be Fourth District Appellate Justice Eugene Doherty. The other four members of the Task Force, one from each of the remaining districts, are First District Appellate Justice David Ellis, Second District Appellate Justice Margaret Mullen, Third District Appellate Justice Lance Petersen, and Fifth District Appellate Justice Mark Boie.