RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is a home rule unit of government pursuant to the 1970 Illinois Constitution, Article VII, Section 6 (a); and
WHEREAS, pursuant to its home rule power, the City of Chicago may exercise any power and perform any function relating to its government and affairs including the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, as home to Cook County Department of Corrections, the largest single jail site in the United States, and carrying an average daily population of about 9,000 detainees, Chicago has a singularly vested interest in matters pertaining to detention practices; and
WHEREAS, bonding practices have long been the subject of criminal justice reform discussions and they are now at the forefront of efforts that are before the 100th Illinois General Assembly (General Assembly) and others spearheaded by the Cook County Sheriffs Office; and
WHEREAS, among the measures that the Illinois General Assembly is contemplating is House Bill 2456, Representative Lashawn K. Ford's proposal to release a first-time offender charged with a non-violent offense on his or her own recognizance (I-Bond) unless the court makes a specific finding that a cash bond is necessary to secure his or her appearance in addition to any other conditions; and
WHEREAS, another proposal is Representative Christian L. Mitchell's House Bill 3421, which would abolish monetary bail and instead employ a validated risk assessment tool at pre-trial release hearings (bond hearings); and
WHEREAS, Senator Bill Cunningham introduced Senate Bill 1980, which would allow a defendant to be held without bail in gun crimes, if after a hearing, a judge makes a finding that releasing the defendant on bond would create "a real and present threat" to public safety; and
WHEREAS, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority reports Illinois jails booked over 284,000 people in 2014 compared to 108,000 people booked in ...
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