The office of the attorney general in the Thompson Center in Chicago is seen in July 2021.
The Illinois Supreme Court should reject a “grab-bag of constitutional theories” put forward by prosecutors across the state who are challenging a measure that would eliminate cash bail, the attorney general’s office argued in a final appeal brief filed Monday. The justices will now hear oral arguments in the case on March 14 in Springfield to decide whether the pretrial provisions of the sweeping SAFE-T Act violate the state’s constitution.The state is appealing a Kankakee County judge’s ruling that found measures that remove money as a factor in pretrial release decisions to be unconstitutional. The December decision caused confusion across the state less than two weeks before cash bail was set to be abolished.
The high court stepped in hours before the measures would take effect, halting implementation until the high court rules on the matter to “maintain consistent pretrial procedures throughout Illinois.”In its final arguments, the Illinois attorney general’s office pushed back on assertions from more than 60 state’s attorneys, most from downstate, who contended that lawmakers should have put the matter to voters as a proposed amendment to the state constitution.
'Grab-bag of constitutional theories' means 'the Constitution.' But the AG doesn't like that