CCBF provides periodic public updates on the operations of our Revolving Fund in order to remain transparent and accountable to the community that makes our work possible. Our last detailed update can be found here. In 2021, CCBF paid over $950,000 to free 125 people in Illinois.

From January 1st to April 1, 2022, CCBF paid over $149,000 to free 25 people in Cook County.

These requests came through our hotline, our partnership with Believers Bail Out, and through referrals from other community partners. In addition to paying bonds, we provide post-release support to people we bond out who are still fighting their cases, including those subjected to restrictive pretrial conditions such as electronic monitoring.

In the first three months of this year, we paid over $62,000 to free people from jail who were still placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring, despite having their bonds paid. Electronic monitoring turns people’s homes into jails, so we have worked to support people on electronic monitoring just as we support those inside Cook County Jail. Since the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act’s electronic monitoring reforms in January 2022, we have been able to guide many people we support in exercising their new rights to have permission to leave home two days each week to take care of their essential needs. We have also continued to support people in fighting their cases and maintaining their freedom.

Supporting Criminalized Survivors

One highlight of the quarter is the victory of a criminalized survivor whom CCBF paid bond for in January 2019. After being released from Cook County Jail, she was placed on the Cook County Sheriff’s electronic monitoring, subjected to house arrest, and constantly harassed by the Sheriff’s officers due to false alerts caused by her malfunctioning monitor. 

In December 2021, CCBF worked together with other community organizations, including Love and Protect, Nehemiah Trinity Rising, Women’s Justice Institute, and the Illinois Prison Project to gather over 12 letters of support demanding that charges against the criminalized survivor be dropped. This past January, we received the incredible news that State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office dropped all charges, and she was free after two years of fighting her case. We truly believe this outcome would not have been possible without the overwhelming love and support from fellow community organizations. 

Because of these community partnerships and your support, we can continue providing assistance to people seeking to free their loved ones from pretrial incarceration in Cook County and beyond. We remain grateful to all our donors and the larger movement that makes our work possible, and we will continue to pay bonds and fight for pretrial freedom in our communities.