'Rocket Docket' Bill Reduces Jail Stay for Non-Violent Cook County Jail Inmates Charged with 'Crimes of Survival'

Cook County Jail inmates incarcerated for non-violent “crimes of survival” could now be eligible to fight their cases while living and working within the community thanks to groundbreaking legislation.

Senate Bill 202, sponsored by Sen. Bill Cunningham (18th District-Beverly) and Rep. Mike Zalewski (21st District-Riverside) was signed into law late Friday. The state lawmakers worked in partnership with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart to get the bill passed in the Illinois General Assembly.

Effective immediately, SB 202 creates a two-year pilot program called the Accelerate Resolution Court, or “rocket docket,” in Cook County. Presiding judges will have 30 days to dispose the assigned cases of defendants charged with low-level crimes of survival, such as retail theft or criminal trespassing, according to an Illinois General Assembly news release.

Inmates eligible for the rocket docket must not have any prior conviction for one of a number of violent crimes in the past decade, including murder, criminal sexual assault, armed robbery or any firearm offenses.

If the case is not resolved within 30 days, defendants must be released on their own recognizance or electronic monitoring and follow a number of conditions of release that include not leaving the state without court permission and appearing at all court dates, the press statement said.

Dart conceived the concept of the Rocket Docket after a thorough analysis of Cook County Jail’s populations, which showed an alarming number of inmates unable to pay nominal bonds and languishing in jail for many months despite being charged with low-level, non-violent crimes.

It costs about $143 per day, typically more than value of what the retail defendants are charged with stealing. The average length of stay in jal among those charged with retail theft who will qualify for the Rocket Docket is 59 days, with the longest serving inmate going on 270 days in jail.

The Rocket Docket is intended to rebalance the destructive effects of “unjust incarceration” among pre-trial inmates. The new law could help detainees, such as a 30-year-old woman who awaited trial for 221 days in jail on minor charges when she was accused of stealing two plums and and three chocolate bars from a Save-a-Lot because she was hungry.

A 51-year-old has spent ten months in jail for stealing toothpaste, and 47-year-old man crutches who has been in Cook county Jail for 47 days for stealing t-shirts from a Walgreen’s, Dart said.

“We need to do more in Springfield to ensure dangerous criminals are locked up while those charged with petty offenses aren’t needlessly slowing down the justice system,” Cunningham said. “Working with Sheriff Dart and Rep. Zalewski, we have put a good framework in place to speed up the process for these low level crimes that hopefully will present more opportunities to rebalance our system.”

Zalewski said that lawmakers and law enforcement would be closely monitoring the pilot program for the next two years to see if it reduces the number of people languishing in jail by getting a swift sentence to help them avoid repeating the same mistakes.

“Today, we moved closer to a criminal justice system that is actually worthy of the name,” Dart said. “This law will help alleviate both the humanitarian and fiscal toll of unjust incarceration, with the guiding principle that jails should be reserved for violent offenders who actually pose threats to society rather than the homeless and mentally ill.”