Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice
We are part of the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice that works to end money bond in Illinois and reduce incarceration in county jails. Like our UUPMI Facebook Page to stay be notified of calls to action. IN the past we have filed witness slips, submitted testimony, attended lobby days, and educated our friends and loved ones about the importance of pretrial justice.
From one of the network organizations, the Coalition to End Money Bond: "Every year, Illinois incarcerates over 250,000 people in its 92 county jails. All too often, people are stuck in jail not because a judge required it, but because the accused person can’t afford to pay their money bond, i.e., the payment required to buy their freedom.
It is no surprise that 90% of people in Illinois jail haven’t been convicted of the crime they’ve been accused of. That’s called pretrial incarceration and it’s expanded over 433% since 1970 in the United States.
Deciding who should and shouldn’t be in jail based on money and filling up our jails with poor people hasn’t worked. But it has taken millions of dollars out of communities and cost billions of dollars to support so much incarceration.
Money bond has not made us safer, contributed to racial disparities in the justice system, and fueled mass incarceration and wrongful convictions.
Communities and elected officials across the state have been calling for changes to the Illinois pretrial legal system. Other states and other court systems have already done it safely; Illinois should be next. This year alone, millions of people across the country have hit the streets to protest inequality in the legal system. "
We are part of the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice that works to end money bond in Illinois and reduce incarceration in county jails. Like our UUPMI Facebook Page to stay be notified of calls to action. IN the past we have filed witness slips, submitted testimony, attended lobby days, and educated our friends and loved ones about the importance of pretrial justice.
From one of the network organizations, the Coalition to End Money Bond: "Every year, Illinois incarcerates over 250,000 people in its 92 county jails. All too often, people are stuck in jail not because a judge required it, but because the accused person can’t afford to pay their money bond, i.e., the payment required to buy their freedom.
It is no surprise that 90% of people in Illinois jail haven’t been convicted of the crime they’ve been accused of. That’s called pretrial incarceration and it’s expanded over 433% since 1970 in the United States.
Deciding who should and shouldn’t be in jail based on money and filling up our jails with poor people hasn’t worked. But it has taken millions of dollars out of communities and cost billions of dollars to support so much incarceration.
Money bond has not made us safer, contributed to racial disparities in the justice system, and fueled mass incarceration and wrongful convictions.
Communities and elected officials across the state have been calling for changes to the Illinois pretrial legal system. Other states and other court systems have already done it safely; Illinois should be next. This year alone, millions of people across the country have hit the streets to protest inequality in the legal system. "