A message from Joel K. Johnson, TASC President and CEO 

The groundbreaking criminal justice reform, the Pretrial Fairness Act, has officially launched this week. This policy puts Illinois at the forefront of the national conversation on justice reform and underscores the critical role of organizations like TASC in providing the pretrial services underpinning the law. It also showcases the need for ongoing state financial investment in the law to ensure its success.

Historically, the pretrial period in Illinois has been rife with systemic inequities that disproportionately affected marginalized communities. Pretrial detention was often imposed when someone was unable to pay cash bail, a system that unfairly penalized those unable to afford bond, leading to a cycle of poverty and incarceration. 

It is well-documented that cash bail exacerbates racial and socio-economic disparities and can lead to adverse outcomes for defendants even before they have their day in court.

Enter the Pretrial Fairness Act.

The new law ends cash bail in Illinois and mandates a complete overhaul of pretrial services. The Act requires courts to evaluate if a defendant poses a risk to public safety or is a flight risk, rather than relying on their ability to post bail. This shifts the focus from wealth-based detention to an approach that assesses the actual risks and needs of each individual. 

The law also calls for support for community-based pretrial services, like those provided by TASC. For nearly fifty years, TASC has been a pioneer in the criminal-legal space in Illinois, offering alternatives to incarceration that address the root causes of criminal behavior, such as substance use and mental health disorders. Through comprehensive case management, TASC connects individuals with the services they need to break the cycle of incarceration, including substance use disorder treatment, mental health services, and job training.

TASC’s approach produces results.

Adults in TASC’s court and probation programs have a 71% reduction in re-arrests for drug and property crimes two years after program enrollment. Men in Illinois prisons who completed drug treatment and reentry support—including TASC case management—have a 44% lower likelihood of returning to prison within 7 years than similar individuals who have had no access to these services. 

TASC’s approach also produces savings for taxpayers.

TASC’s pretrial services, which include providing transportation and court appearance reminders to ensure individuals appear for their court dates, cost $180 per client for one month of service, or about 30 times less than one month of detention in Cook County Jail.

The TASC approach aligns harmoniously with the ethos of the Pretrial Fairness Act.

With the end of cash bail and a complete overhaul of pretrial services, organizations like TASC, with our long history of providing community-based alternatives to incarceration, will play a crucial role in implementing the reforms mandated by the Act, starting this week. Our history includes thousands of individuals who can cite TASC’s support and case management, rather than jail or prison, that enabled them to pursue and achieve recovery.

Additionally, the implementation will be a dynamic process because the law also mandates data collection and transparency, requiring courts to collect and report data on pretrial decisions, including the use of risk assessment tools and the reasons for detention or release. This ongoing evaluation will enable pretrial services providers, like TASC, to provide the Illinois General Assembly, law enforcement, and other stakeholders the necessary feedback to fine tune the law and, ultimately, provide the public the data necessary to render its own judgments on the law’s effectiveness.

Finally, as the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act scales-up statewide, the state’s financial investment in community-based pretrial services will also need to scale up significantly if the promise of a more equitable and just criminal-legal system in Illinois is to be fulfilled. TASC stands ready to work with legislators and Governor JB Pritzker’s Administration to ensure that the means are provided to ensure that the ends are delivered.