[ACLU-CU ALERT] Fwd: Volunteering Opportunity to Defend the Pretrial Fairness Act

[Champaign County ACLU Announcements]

Hi everyone

On behalf of the ACLU Champaign County we would like to make you aware of a
volunteer action to defend against the weakening of the Illinois Pretrial
Fairness Act including Bail Reform that passed in 2021 and is slated to go
into effect January 1 2023.

As an informational  item, there is a link to the contents of the act
below.   ACLU locally and our ACLU Illinois headquarters in Chicago
supported and lobbied strongly for this measure. We are aligned with the
Bail-out Coalition that sent the message  below. There will also be a
statewide ACLU on-line teach-in in the fall to raise awareness before the
fall veto session/legislative session where there might be push-back.

As a volunteer possibility, what is hoped is to train some volunteers to do
court watching here at the courthouse in August to document current
arraignment and bail procedures.  The training is this Saturday for an hour
(see below to register ). Of course, if you have an 8 or 9 to five job,
 this may not work to do court-watching, but students/faculty/teachers,
retirees and others on summer or general flex time might be interested.

Thanks to all those who mobilized for ACLU participation in the July 4
parade—VERY HOT but it was heartening to see both the size of our
contingent and the positive reception it got, especially given the wedge
issues today.

Glad to answer questions but if so, perhaps easier and faster to contact
Carol Leff, current local  CU-ACLU president directly at
carolleff1947 at gmail.com.



---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Champaign County Bail Out Coalition <
champaign.county.bail.out at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Jul 7, 2022 at 11:34 AM
Subject: Volunteering Opportunity to Defend the Pretrial Fairness Act
To:


Hello everyone,

Champaign County Bailout Coalition (CCBC), in collaboration with the
Illinois Network
for Pretrial Justice
<https://endmoneybond.org/illinois-network-for-pretrial-justice/> (INPJ)
and Lucy Parsons Labs, <https://lucyparsonslabs.com/> is organizing some
courtwatching in preparation to defend the Pretrial Fairness Act
<https://endmoneybond.org/pretrialfairness/>, which will eliminate money
bail in Illinois in January 2023, and we're calling for volunteers to help
with the endeavor. Our goal is to show that the pretrial system causes harm
to our community and that the Pretrial Fairness Act is the best current
solution to that system's injustices.

The commitment will involve going to bail hearings in person during the
month of August, and observing and recording basic information about them.
These hearings start at 1:30 PM, Monday-Friday, and will take up about an
hour of your time (possibly more on busier days). To make the process as
easy as possible, INPJ has provided data collection sheets where we can
document quantitative information about the race, gender, charges, bail
amount, and representation of defendants going through the system.

We would like to schedule two individuals for each hearing, but three will
be ideal. These numbers will help ensure that no volunteer enters the court
alone and will help capture information during the fast-paced arraignments.

INPJ will be hosting an online training session on July 30,
12:30-1:30*, *customized
for Champaign County. *You can sign up for this one-hour training
session here
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrtmOfmv_Vs-O5hU5el1eI1PcDZ0WB4aqNeJSQIdeMKG14Xg/viewform>.*
Just
fill out your info, check "Champaign County," and indicate your
availability to courtwatch. I'll be in touch directly soon.

This action is an opportunity to defend the Pretrial Fairness Act against
conservative attacks in the next Illinois legislative session, which
threaten to undermine our grassroots efforts to build a society that
prioritizes health, safety, and care. Organizations across Illinois will
simultaneously be participating in similar actions, and our work in
Champaign County is also an opportunity to contribute to a coordinated
state-wide effort to protect the gains we've made for justice.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

On behalf of CCBC,

Phillip

Champaign County Bailout Coalition
202 S Broadway Ave, Urbana, IL 61801
(765) 231-5682
https://champaigncountybailoutcoalition.wordpress.com
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