President Trump recently issued an executive order in an attempt to end pretrial reform in states across the country.

He has railed against bail reform in the press, as well as on social media. He has asserted that cash bail reform is a “disaster” for victims, operating as a crime creator and get-out-of-jail-free card for those who cause harm. Along with now-occupied Washington, D.C., he has specifically pointed to Illinois, which ended its reliance on money bail in 2023 when legislators passed the Pretrial Fairness Act.

We have worked in the survivor community for years, and we fought to replace cash bail in Illinois with a system based on risk that took into account victims’ voices. We want to be clear: What actually harms victims of gender-based violence is this administration’s effor

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