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Friend, it's been almost a year since the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the Pretrial Fairness Act, my bill to make Illinois the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail. 

And since it's passing, criminal justice reform advocates like me have been working hard to combat the misinformation being spread from right-wing extremists. 

Today, I'd like to really set the record straight. Before I continue, my team and I are looking to show the depth of support for this law and others working to reform our legal system. I'm not asking for a donation — will you sign our petition and add your name to the list of folks who stand for reform like this?

Friend, let's dive right in: 

❌ Myth 1: The elimination of cash bail increases crime. 

✅ Truth: Data actually shows that since cash bail was eliminated, statewide violent and property crime in Illinois has decreased by 12%. 

❌ Myth 2: Without cash bail, violent criminals will be walking the streets!

✅ Truth: The Pretrial Fairness Act replaces cash bail with a pretrial release system that considers a detainee's 1️⃣ alleged crime, 2️⃣ their risk of not appearing for court, and 3️⃣ any danger they might pose to others before deciding if they should be released. And since the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act, failure to appear rates actually dropped from 17% to 15%. 

❌ Myth 3: Cash bail was already a fair and affordable system. 

✅ Truth: This one is the one that gets me the most: not only does cash bail punish someone for a crime they haven't been convicted of, research says that low-income people of color are disproportionately stuck with higher bail amounts more often. The Pretrial Fairness Act sought to completely get rid of the wealth-based system in place and bring us back to a system based on the safety of our community — and that's what it did. 

Friend, this is a long-winded way of saying that I am beyond proud of the positive impact that the Pretrial Fairness Act has had on our state, and this is a sign for right-wing extremists working hard to spread ignorance and misinformation to go kick rocks. 

I'd love to show the critics the depth of support for this bill and others like it. Will you add your name to this petition my team and I drew up to stand with our fairer and safer vision for the future?

Thank you,

Robert Peters

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