On Wednesday, the state’s legislature has voted in support of the Pretrial Fairness Act as included in the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ criminal justice reform bill, HB 3653 SFA2. Among other things, this bill overhauls the state’s pretrial justice system and ends the use of money bond. Governor JB Pritzker is expected to sign the bill into law.  More than a quarter of a million people are incarcerated in Illinois’ county jails every year, 90 percent of them are locked up pretrial and a majority of them are incarcerated only because they can’t afford to pay a money bond. For decades, wealth-based incarceration has destabilized communities across Illinois by causing people to lose their jobs, housing, and even custody of their children. The Pretrial Fairness Act will ensure that no person is caged in the state of Illinois simply because cannot afford to pay a money bond. “So many people have lost jobs, housing, and so much more, not because they’ve been found to be a danger to anyone’s safety but because of the size of their bank account. This system has prioritized access to wealth over public safety for far too long, it has caused irreparable harm to communities across our state. By passing the Pretrial Fairness Act, we are bringing an end to the archaic practice of money bond that has caused irreparable harm to our communities,” said State Senator Robert Peters of the 13th District.