In Feb. 22, 2021, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law HB 3653. Among the many provisions contained within HB 3653 (now Public Act 101-0652) is the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA), a massive overhaul of Illinois’ cash bail system. The PFA makes Illinois the first state to eliminate monetary bail, creating a system in which defendants will be released or detained pending trial based on their risk of nonappearance and/or their perceived dangerousness. If the individual does not fit a certain set of predetermined criteria, they must be released. In his June Illinois Bar Journal article, “Illinois, Out on Bail,” Thomas A. Drysdale compares Illinois’ new law to the federal criminal system, which has operated without cash bail for more than 35 years.

In February 2021, the Illinois General Assembly enacted sweeping changes to the state’s criminal justice system. The 764-page bill (now Public Act 101-0652), which has since been amended in part, addresses police conduct, bail reform, and pretrial release among other issues. In their June Illinois Bar Journal article, "To Release or Not to Release," Emily L. Fitch and Brenda M. (Duke) Mathis note that many prosecutors across the state opposed the changes in the bill while many defense attorneys embraced them.

The undergraduate Mock Trial Team for the University of Illinois is hosting its 15th Annual Illinois Invitational Tournament on October 22 - 23, 2022,  at the Urbana-Champaign campus. The Illinois Trial Team is in need of additional teams to judge the tournament on both Saturday (10/22) and Sunday (10/23).

The Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force (Task Force) will host a series of monthly town hall meetings starting on June 23 at 4:00 p.m. via Zoom. These meetings will update court stakeholders on the work of the Task Force as it prepares for the changes coming once the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, and will answer questions regarding the PFA. This legislation, passed as part of the SAFE-T Act, abolishes the use of cash bail in pretrial release decisions on Jan. 1 and establishes new processes for pretrial release and detention decisions.