Chicago Sheriff Refuses New Rights Under Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act
New rules and rights introduced in Illinois’ 2021 Pretrial Fairness Act are being “systematically” ignored and overruled across the Chicago area by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, according to a policy document shared by the Intercept.
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New rules and rights introduced in Illinois’ 2021 Pretrial Fairness Act are being “systematically” ignored and overruled across the Chicago area by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, Maryam Saleh reports for the Intercept. The law guarantees that people put on house arrest while awaiting trial in Illinois be granted movement out of their home at least twice a week for essential tasks, like going to the doctors or picking up groceries. But for pretrial monitoring administered by Sheriff Dart, those “essential days” are being denied for anyone who also has movement scheduled by court order to allow them to go to work or school. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office confirmed the policy in an email to the Intercept but disputed that it violated the rights assigned to people on pretrial monitoring under the law.
