Madison County Chief Judge Dave Hylla is among members of a new commission that will make recommendations regarding pretrial reform of the state’s criminal justice system.
Hylla, who was recently selected chair of the Conference of Chief Circuit Judges, will serve on the Commission along with other judges, law enforcers, law makers and members of organizations that intersect with court systems.
According to a press release from the Illinois Supreme Court, the Commission on Pretrial Practices will conduct a comprehensive review of the pretrial detention system and make recommendations for change.
Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier called the need for reforming pretrial practices “urgent.”
“Pretrial detention costs now consume a substantial portion of the total resources expended by the justice system in our country,” Karmeier stated in the release. “The time has come to take a hard look at whether that investment makes sense.
"Mindful of these social and financial costs, the Illinois Supreme Court has committed itself to enacting sensible and practical reforms to the pretrial process to ensure that pretrial incarceration is reserved for cases in which the threat to public safety truly warrants it."
The Commission will study the fiscal impact of changes to pretrial detention systems at the county and state levels.
It will further seek to ensure “a fair, efficient, transparent, accountable and adequately sourced system of pretrial services which includes the use of evidence-based practices and shall develop an operational structure that is guided by the National Institute of Corrections' Essential Elements of a High Functioning Pretrial System and Agency.”
Other members include:
Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart
Cook County Circuit Judge and chair of the Illinois Judicial College Board of Trustees Thomas M. Donnelly
Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans
Cook County Circuit Judge and chair of the Legislative Committee of the Illinois Supreme Court James P. Flannery, Jr.
Second District Appellate Court Judge Donald C. Hudson
Lee County Circuit Judge and chair of the Illinois Judicial Conference Committee on Criminal Justice Ronald M. Jacobson
Executive director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority John Maki
Chief Judge at 23rd Judicial Circuit Robbin J. Stuckert
Chief Judge at 2nd Judicial Circuit Thomas J. Tedeschi
Stuckert has been appointed chair of the Commission and Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke has been appointed as Supreme Court liaison to the Commission.
Burke stated in the release that the Supreme Court began looking into pretrial services in Cook County four years ago, and as a result of that work, the idea for a statewide pretrial commission was developed.
Additional members of the Commission will include one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one member appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, one member appointed by the Senate President, one member appointed by the Senate Minority Leader, and one member appointed by the Illinois Attorney General to represent the interests of victims of crime and domestic violence.
The Commission will also include the president or a designee of the following organizations: The Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Probation and Court Services Association, the Office of the Illinois State's Attorney Appellate Prosecutor, the Association of Court Clerks, the Illinois Public Defender Association, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, the Illinois Sheriffs Association, and the Illinois Association of County Officials. The executive director or designee of The Alumni Association, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization providing peer support and services to incarcerated and formerly-incarcerated individuals will also be on the Commission.
The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts will provide administrative support to the Commission.