Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart on Friday expressed his support for state-level legislation proposed by Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey (D-Chicago) that would establish a flat bail-bond fee for people detained at the county jails.
Under current state law, the Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court can keep 10 percent of posted bail for any bond amount as “bail bond costs,” according to Crain’s Chicago Business. Even if the detainee is ultimately found innocent of the crime for which they were arrested, the county keeps the money. The county collected $5.6 million form the bail bond fees in 2013.
Fritchey’s measure would cap the bond processing fee the county can charge detainees at $100, regardless of the bond amount. Dart in a press release called the bond fee reform “an issue of fundamental fairness.”
Along with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and county commissioners, Dart has called for justice system reforms that would reduce the Cook County’s prison population. In the meantime, Fritchey said the county should not be benefitting financially from an overcrowded jail system.
“At a time when we’re trying to keep fewer people behind bars, we shouldn’t get a windfall,” he told Crain’s. He stated in the press release, “This proposal is one step of the many that must be taken to reform our criminal justice system.”
-Tom Butala