A Capitol Rotunda rally to end the first week of the fall veto session served to remind lawmakers the public has not forgotten about the argument over whether to eliminate cash bail.
Carrying signs with legends such as “Freedom Shouldn’t Have a Price Tag,” some 400 people crowded in Wednesday afternoon. “This will make Illinois the first – the first! – state in this here union to end the practice of jailing people because they don’t have money to buy their freedom,” said Briana Payton of the Chicago Community Bond Fund. “We are going to lead the way in making sure that in this state, and hopefully many states to come, that will be a thing of the past, just like the historic precedent that came before it of (ending) slavery.”
Supporters of the law, passed almost two years ago but taking effect Jan. 1, use words such as “clarifications” to describe what must be done to the law. Opponents sum up their desire in one word:
“Repeal.”