Criminal Justice Reform

More than a year after Illinois’ SAFE-T Act eliminated cash bail statewide on Sept. 18, 2023, new research from Loyola University Chicago finds violent crime fell about 6%, homicides dropped around 10%, property crime rose less than 1%, and failure-to-appear rates stayed roughly flat at 15%, with no statistically significant rise in reoffending among defendants released under the new risk-based pretrial system. While statewide and Cook County data undercut early warnings that the law would unleash a crime wave, rural law enforcement figures such as Franklin County Sheriff Kyle Bacon say the reform has worsened addiction-driven crime in communities with scarce treatment options because low-level drug possession can rarely justify detention.