Money Bail and Decarceration in Champaign County

Chibundo Egwuatu, a UIUC graduate student in sociocultural anthropology and member of the Champaign County Bailout Coalition, presented a slideshow on money bail. She explained how bail criminalizes poverty and defunds Black communities, cited local jail-population figures, described the volunteer-run bail fund's practices (consent, post-bail support, up to $1,000 per person), and discussed the proposed Pretrial Fairness Act and opposition to algorithmic risk assessment. She recounted bailing out people arrested locally on May 31-June 1, 2020, aided by a Chicago bail fund. A Q&A followed. Held online, in the fall 2020 election-year series on the state of democracy.