If Government Wants Our Trust, It Needs to Follow Proper Process

Illinois recently adopted a law ending cash bail.  I’m not going to discuss the merits of the new law; that’s not the purpose of this post.  I want to talk about how the bill was passed because that says something important about Illinois and the way we are governed.

A law abolishing cash bail is a big deal.  You would think that there would be a lot of discussion about it.  And that those passing it would want the process to be proper and to be seen to be proper.

But, of course, that’s not the way things are done in Illinois.  There were some meetings and hearings with legislators last year, during the pandemic, when the legislature itself was too scared to even meet because of Covid concerns. 

And when it came to passing the bill, the legislature waited until the last days – and hours – of the lame duck session in January to actually pass it.  It was a 700-page bill, but our leaders passed it through Illinois Senate in the middle of the night.  The Illinois House passed it just minutes before the new legislators took office.

All of which is totally legal – and totally wrong.  The whole process was appalling.  A huge bill on an important subject was passed in a last-minute rush when nobody was looking.  The law doesn’t take effect until 2023, so there was plenty of time for the new legislature to review the bill, to let people comment on it, and to pass a law in a way that not only met the bare legal requirements but was respectful and followed proper process.  But that’s not the way we do things in Illinois.