Illinois Democrats celebrated the end of cash bail statewide on Monday while others worried about an increase in crime. The Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T Act, was approved by the General Assembly in January 2021. It makes several changes to the criminal justice system, including eliminating cash bail statewide, making it the first state to do so after being enacted on Monday. The Pretrial Fairness Act was supposed to go into effect Jan. 1, but was delayed by court challenges until two months ago when it was upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court.

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