Ramirez Slams Republican Efforts to Benefit the Predatory For-Profit Bail Industry at the Expense of Low-Income People, People of Color, Individuals Seeking Reproductive Care
Rep Ramirez pointed out the irony of advancing a bill that strengthens the position of the predatory for-profit bond industry one year after Illinois successfully eliminated cash bail
Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), the Vice Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee, voted “NO” on the Republican H.R. 8205, Detaining the Disadvantaged Act. Ramirez’s decisions came after carefully analyzing that the legislation fails to address public safety or economic inequity, instead benefiting insurers and the corporate for-profit bail industry.
“Today marks one year and one week since Illinois eliminated cash bail. The passage of the Pretrial Fairness Act made Illinois the first state to end the practice of holding people in jail simply because they could not buy their freedom. A year later, the preliminary research on Illinois shows that the failure-to-appear rate has not increased, there is no documented increase in crime as a result of defendants being released without posting bond, and approximately $140 million that was posted in bond now remains in the community,” said Congresswoman Ramirez. “Today’s bill is a conservative attack on grassroots efforts to resist and disrupt the predatory for-profit cash bail industry and remove the influence of money on our criminal legal system. That’s why I voted NO on H.R. 8205. Until all states end the unjust practice of pretrial bond, we must protect and defend community bond funds.”
BACKGROUND:
According to data by the Center for American Progress, the for-profit bail industry has long profited from the criminal justice system’s targeting of low-income people, people of color, and now individuals seeking reproductive care. In Illinois, the law to end cash bail, the Pretrial Fairness Act, passed the General Assembly in January 2021 with Congresswoman Ramirez’s advocacy and vote. It was signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker on Feb. 22. The bill was part of the SAFE-T Act, a broader criminal justice reform package. According to reports of the data analyzed by the Center for Criminal Justice at Loyola University in Chicago, the state has not seen dramatic changes in the security and justice process.