President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday aimed at ending no-cash bail nationwide, but advocates in Illinois argue he cannot force the state to abandon its policies.
Illinois became the first state to eliminate cash bail nearly two years ago, following a push from state legislators to right a system they argued was inherently unfair to poor defendants.
The Trump administration is now threatening federal funding for cities and states, like Illinois, that have eliminated cash bail.
The order gives U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi 30 days to submit a list of jurisdictions that have “eliminated cash bail as a potential condition of pretrial release from custody for crimes that pose a clear threat to public safety.” Those states and cities will then be reviewed for federal funding, which could be suspended or terminated.
Advocates for bail reform argue that’s not within the president’s power, citing a recent ruling that blocked the administration from revoking funds for sanctuary cities.
“The President of the United States cannot commandeer state and local policy by threatening to cut off funds and abandon the federal government’s responsibility to fund state and local government,” Ed Yohnka of ACLU Illinois said Monday. “That is not the way the system works.”
The order comes just days after Trump said he was considering sending national troops to Chicago to combat crime, an act both Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson said would be illegal.
“Whether it’s discussions around bringing federal troops to Chicago, or whether it’s this effort to unwind a completely appropriate and thoughtful and well-implemented policy, this is just a president who doesn’t get it,” Yohnka added.
During a press conference inside the White House on Monday, Trump called Chicago a “killing field,” before turning his attention to cashless bail, which he claimed started “big crime in this country.”
Advocates for bail reform in Illinois were quick to push back against Trump’s claims Monday, noting that violent crime decreased following the elimination of cash bail. “What we did in Illinois is historic,” State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, said Monday. “People like Donald Trump and his friends kept talking about what we were doing was going to cause a massive spike in violence, that it was going to drive up crime.
“And the fact of the matter is, not only here in Chicago, but throughout the state and throughout this country, we’ve seen a historic drop in violence.”
Monday was not the first time Trump took aim at the city or its bail system.
Earlier this month, he vowed to end “no cash bail” in Chicago, telling reporters, “We’re gonna change the statute.”
Although Trump specifically mentioned Chicago, cash bail was eliminated across Illinois through state law.
The Pre-Trial Fairness Act faced legal challenges after being signed into law, but its constitutionality was ultimately upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court. It took effect statewide in September 2023.
Under the law, judges can no longer order people to pay a cash bond to get out of jail while awaiting trial. The law still allows for people to be jailed if they are charged with violent crimes — such as murder, sex crimes, domestic battery — and deemed a flight or safety risk.
In the first year without bail, jail populations went down and both property and violent crime decreased statewide, according to research from the Loyola University Chicago Center for Criminal Justice.
“Even though President Trump has dominated the news cycle today, we’ve already litigated the issue,” said the Rev. K. Edward Copeland, pastor of New Zion Baptist Church in Rockford and and a proponent of the law. “We’ve already seen people, even in this state, try to use fear instead of facts to try to push their agenda, and we’re committed to not going backwards. We actually have the data now. We have the proof.”
Trump signed a separate executive order on Monday directly aimed at Washington, D.C., threatening to take action on “federal funding decisions, services, or approvals,” if the capital maintains its cashless system.