LETTER: Rabbi weighs in on Pretrial Fairness Act

To the Editor:

As a rabbi, I pray each day to God who “frees the captives.” I feel blessed to see Illinois make these words come true as the Pretrial Fairness Act, part of House Bill 3653, becomes law with Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature.

We are only human, so our justice will always have flaws. Making a “more perfect union” asks us to do the most good while doing the least harm. The good of ending money bond is obvious. We have 250,000 people imprisoned in our state each year awaiting trial. Our justice system is based on the principle that we are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Why are some people in jail when others charged with the same crimes are free before trial? They are the ones who can’t afford to pay bail. Often while in jail, people lose their jobs. They can’t make car or house payments or pay rent. Their children may enter foster care. We have made being poor a crime. The system should not favor the wealthy at the expense of the poor.

The bill is carefully crafted. It will reduce the number of people incarcerated in Illinois jails substantially while still allowing judges to detain people who they determine cannot be safely released. The system will always be imperfect, but there is great good for society to have many thousands of people back at work and great good for each individual to be free. As the principles of our nation teach, each of us has the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” In this time of pandemic, all three of those things are endangered by imprisonment before trial.

Thank you to our legislators and to all the organizations, conservative and liberal alike, who have helped make this justice reform possible. In the Bible, God freed Joseph from Pharaoh’s prison to become a blessing to the world. We can free those awaiting justice and be a blessing ourselves.

Rabbi Isaac Serotta

Member of Illinois Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC-IL) and rabbi at Makom Solel Lakeside

Highland Park