Letter to Governor Pritzker: Support for HB 3653
On January 13, 2021, the Illinois General Assembly passed a historic criminal justice reform package (presented by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus).
Among the many provisions in the 764 page bill is the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) – a comprehensive proposal that ends money bail, reduces pretrial incarceration, and creates a fairer and more effective pretrial legal system in Illinois. The Coalition to End Money Bond and the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice were instrumental in drafting the PFA.
Last year, Governor Pritzker announced his intention to end the cash bail system, reform sentencing, and offer more rehabilitative opportunities for system-involved people in the state. Now that HB 3653 has passed the legislature, Gov. Pritzker has his opportunity to do just that – once he signs the bill into law, the implementation process will begin and the state will abolish the use of money bail in January of 2023.
The leadership of Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers – together the Collaboration for Justice – sent a letter to the Governor on February 5 encouraging him to sign the legislation into law. You can find the full text of the letter here.
- Fill out this form from ACLU-IL to show Governor Pritzker you support HB 3653: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/tell-governor-pritzker-support-police-accountability-and-criminal-justice-reform
- Follow up with your legislators about their stance on pretrial fairness in Illinois: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/pfa-legislator-outreach
Special thank you to our Coalition to End Money Bond partner, the Illinois Justice Project (ILJP), for drafting the text of this letter.