美国国家公共电台 NPR--Illinois will become the first state to do away with cash bail

Illinois will become the first state to do away with cash bail¹

Transcript²

The Pretrial Fairness Act is part of a sweeping³ criminal justice reform package. Amid fierce Republican opposition⁴ and a pending⁵ lawsuit⁶, Illinois prepares to implement⁷ the change on Jan. 1.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

We turn to two states now that are making changes to law enforcement practices. On January 1, Illinois will become the first state in the nation to end the cash bail system completely. As Mawa Iqbal from member station WBEZ reports, the state's Pretrial Fairness Act is part of a sweeping criminal justice reform package facing fierce Republican opposition.

MAWA IQBAL, BYLINE⁸: If a defendant⁹ is facing a lower-level nonviolent charge, they will no longer have to pay a cash bail to be released from jail while they await trial. But a judge can still hold the defendant if they prove to be a flight risk or a danger to the community. Governor JB Pritzker says this reform is for the single mom who commits shoplifting but is stuck in jail because she can't afford her way out.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JB PRITZKER: The changes that will be brought about by this new law will bring more justice and more fairness to many who have so often been forgotten.

IQBAL: Other states have come close, like California, where efforts to pass similar legislation have been stalled, with fierce opposition coming from the bail bonding industry. And advocates in Illinois were prepared for a fight here too.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Show me what community looks like.

IQBAL: At a rally earlier this year inside the state Capitol rotunda¹⁰, Briana Payton of the Chicago Community Bond Fund said they're determined¹¹ to see the act over the finish line.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BRIANA PAYTON: There's been a lot of hatred¹², a lot of hatred targeted towards people that are getting out of jail as though they're not members of our communities. And we need to stand for people to have the presumption¹³ of innocence¹⁴.

IQBAL: The battle began when the bill was signed into law last year. Republican lawmakers called the act dangerous, saying you'll open the door for violent criminals to be let out onto the streets. It became the hot-button issue for conservative candidates during the midterms in November. They were calling it the Purge¹⁵ Law, likening it to the horror movie "The Purge," where all crime is allowed for a 12-hour period once a year. Legal experts, however, pointed¹⁶ out the act outlines dozens of, quote, "forcible felonies" that a person can still be denied pretrial release for, like murder and armed robbery. But Republican elected officials continue to push back. During a winter legislative¹⁷ session, Democratic lawmakers introduced changes to the original act, addressing some of their concerns. But House Minority Leader Jim Durkin said Republican input¹⁸ was largely ignored.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JIM DURKIN: I had to find out through the state's attorneys who were involved with these of when the next meeting was and what happened at the meetings.

IQBAL: And while many state attorneys had seats at the negotiating table, over 60 of them from all over Illinois are suing Governor Pritzker and top Democratic lawmakers. They're arguing the elimination¹⁹ of cash bail is unconstitutional. Their attorney, James Rowe, said during oral arguments the law should have been decided²⁰ by voters.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JAMES ROWE: The Constitution is not a grant of powers to the legislature. It is a limitation on the legislature's power.

IQBAL: The judge plans to hand down a decision before January 1. In the meantime, courtrooms and sheriff departments are moving forward with preparations for the big change. Julia Rietz, a state attorney from central Illinois, says she and other prosecutors²¹ have been attending trainings hosted by the state Supreme²² Court.

JULIA RIETZ: That is something that we are going to keep an eye on and look at as we move forward as to how that affects our ability to ensure the safety of our communities.

IQBAL: The high court has also been hosting a series of virtual town halls aimed at explaining the nuts and bolts of the new system. And the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice is training volunteers to court watch as judges, state's attorneys and defendants²³ navigate²⁴ this historic change.

For NPR News, I'm Mawa Iqbal in Springfield, Ill.

1 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

6 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

7 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

10 rotunda   

n.圆形建筑物；圆厅

参考例句：

• The Capitol at Washington has a large rotunda.华盛顿的国会大厦有一圆形大厅。
• The rotunda was almost deserted today,dotted with just a few tourists.圆形大厅今天几乎没有多少人，只零星散布着几个游客。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

13 presumption   

n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定

参考例句：

• Please pardon my presumption in writing to you.请原谅我很冒昧地写信给你。
• I don't think that's a false presumption.我认为那并不是错误的推测。

14 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

15 purge   

n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁

参考例句：

• The new president carried out a purge of disloyal army officers.新总统对不忠诚的军官进行了清洗。
• The mayoral candidate has promised to purge the police department.市长候选人答应清洗警察部门。

16 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

17 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

18 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

19 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

20 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

21 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

22 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

23 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

24 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。