Chicago Ald. Edward Burke wants to hear from leaders in the Cook County judicial system about how proposed state legislation would affect overcrowding at Cook County Jail. (Kevin Beese/Chronicle Media)

A Chicago alderman is calling on representatives of three Cook County agencies to brief city leaders on the impact proposed changes to the state’s bail bond system would have.

Ald. Edward Burke (14^th Ward) is seeking input from the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, State’s Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office on just what impact different bills pending in the state Legislature would have on the bail system.

Burke wants to have the City Council’s Committee on Public Safety hear from representatives of the county departments regarding initiatives being discussed in Springfield, including:

• State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford’s introduction of House Bill 2456 that would allow first-time offenders charged with non-violent offenses to be released on their own recognizance unless a court makes a specific finding that a cash bond is necessary to secure their appearance.
• State Rep. Christian L. Mitchell’s introduction of House Bill 3421 that would abolish monetary bail while employing the use of a “validated risk assessment tool” at bond hearings.
• State Sen. Bill Cunningham’s introduction of Senate Bill 1980 that would allow a defendant to be held without bail on gun charges if the release of the defendant would create a “real and present threat” to public safety.

Burke said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s recent appearance on “60 Minutes,” where he called for reforms to the state’s penal system which has become “a dumping ground” for the poor and mentally ill, generated his call for the hearings.

“The time has come to find real solutions to the chronic overcrowding of Illinois state prisons and especially Cook County Jail,” Burke said.

The hearings would examine “bond practices that more effectively retain violent, high-flight offenders in detention, while releasing those not falling within those parameters,” Burke added.

“Nationally, there is a movement toward a risk-based system that considers flight risk and public safety instead of a money bail system,” a preamble to the resolution for the hearings states.

“In Washington D.C., 90 percent of defendants released posting money were not arrested prior to having their cases resolved and the 10 percent of defendants that were rearrested were arrested for non-violent crimes,” the preamble goes on to say.

According to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Illinois jails booked more than 284,000 people in 2014 compared to 108,000 in 1981.

According to Dart, the cost to detain an inmate is $64 per day and approximately $23,400 a year.

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