New executive orders from the White House aimed at stopping bail reform have put Illinois — the first state to completely eliminate cash bond — into the spotlight of a national debate on bail and crime.

President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Aug. 25 that would revoke federal funding for jurisdictions that allow suspects to be released without posting a bond. Trump says mandating cash bail will help make the country safer by ensuring suspects are not allowed to walk free and commit another crime before trial.

But research data from Illinois shows that fears of widespread crime following bail reform have not been borne out, according to experts. Crime rates in the Prairie State have actually fallen, some experts say.

"There’s always this concern that bail reform will cause the sky to fall but that definitely has not happened in Illinois," said University of Chicago researcher Alison Siegler. "All the evidence I’ve seen points to positive outcomes since Illinois eliminated cash bail. It’s really clear from the data that things have gotten better, not worse."

White House efforts to mandate cash bail around the nation come as more jurisdictions change rules around who should be held in jail before trial. New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. have also enacted reforms limiting cash bail.

Illinois reformed its bail system more radically than any other jurisdiction, via the Pretrial Fairness Act which eliminated cash bail. Gov. JB Pritzker signed the act in 2022 and it went into effect the following year.

Eliminating cash bail does not stop Illinois from holding suspects in jail before trial. Prosecutors now must request the state hold serious crime suspects deemed dangerous or a flight risk. Defendants are otherwise released from jail while awaiting trial based on their promise to appear in court, rather than by paying a specific cash amount.

Why does the White House say we need cash bail?

Mandating that suspects post bond is a matter of public safety, the president said on Aug. 25 in signing the executive orders targeting bail reform. Without it, suspects allowed back onto the streets will commit crimes, he said.

"They kill people and they get out," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We’re ending it."

Critics of bail reform say eliminating it also reduces the incentive for defendants to show up for trial.

A Loyola University, Chicago study on the impact of the law shows that the rate of defendants failing to appear in court has actually slightly fallen from 25% to 23%.

Trump’s national order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to submit a list of local and state jurisdictions with cashless bail policies and identify federal funds in those places that could be "suspended or terminated."

"Maintaining order and public safety requires incarcerating individuals whose pending criminal charges or criminal history demonstrate a clear ongoing risk to society," the order said.

What does the research out of Illinois show?

Researchers say that the idea that dangerous criminals will be able to walk free is not in fact what’s happening on the ground in Illinois.

Data shows that the crime rate among people released before trial has not changed, said Don Stemen, a Loyola Chicago researcher who co-authored the study on the impacts of bail reform in Illinois.

Also, Stemen noted that in Illinois more people charged with serious crimes are being held. The Illinois law only allows judges to jail people who have been charged with certain serious crimes, including violent crimes.

Stemen said that before bail reform, about 60% of defendants charged with serious crimes were released before trial after posting bond. Now, only about 50% of defendants charged with serious crimes are released before trial.

The Loyola researcher said the biggest concerns around bail reform in Illinois have to do with what offenses are considered detainable.

Some judges and prosecutors have felt constrained and have asked for more leeway in requesting detention for defendants, said Stemen, adding that just because an offense isn’t considered serious under the bail reform law doesn’t mean the defendant isn’t a threat to public safety or a flight risk.

A more deliberative process

One of the most significant impacts of bail reform in Illinois is that it has created a more deliberative system for jailing people before trial, according to experts.

Before bail reform, bond hearings were over in a matter of minutes, according to the Loyola study. Now when judges jail a defendant, prosecutors have to make substantive arguments showing why they should be detained. Some hearings last as long as an hour, according to the study.

"People shouldn't be detained pre-trial without a pretty substantive argument for why they should be deprived of their liberty without having been convicted of a crime," said Stemen. "It benefits that system in that we as a society are only spending our dollars on detention for people who need it. Not all people charged with a crime are risks to the public safety or a risk of flight."

Some defenders and prosecutors reported being challenged by the higher standards for detention hearings, according to the Loyola study.

Contributing by Bart Jansen.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump wants to make criminal suspects pay cash bail. This state eliminated it altogether.

Reporting by Michael Loria, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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