Overview

• President Donald Trump signed Aug. 25 executive orders directing federal agencies to withhold grants and contracts from places that have “substantially eliminated” cash bail and instructing the attorney general to produce within 30 days a list of affected jurisdictions, with special focus on Washington, D.C.
• Illinois leaders rejected the pressure, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker defending the state’s Pretrial Fairness Act and Loyola University Chicago research showing slightly improved court appearance rates and more serious offenders held pretrial since the law took effect.
• Ilya Somin and other legal experts argue the funding threats conflict with Supreme Court limits on conditioning federal grants, framing the plan as a federalism overreach likely to be contested in court.
• Empirical findings cited across the coverage, including a Brennan Center review of reformed and nonreformed cities and D.C. Pretrial Services data, report high appearance rates and no demonstrated link between bail reform and increased crime.
• Prosecutors in the Chicago area highlighted practical stakes, with Lake and Cook County officials backing cashless bail on public-safety grounds and Kane County’s state’s attorney warning that losing federal dollars would hamper victim services and community safety.