The Illinois Supreme Court halted the abolition of the cash bail system in the state on Saturday, the day before that landmark criminal justice reform was poised to take effect in much of the state. 

The bail system overhaul — written into law as the Pretrial Fairness Act, the most controversial provision of state’s widely scrutinized SAFE-T Act — was thrown off this week when a Kankakee County judge sided with authorities in 64 counties who have sued to stop the reform, deeming it a violation of the state Constitution.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Friday had appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court to overturn that decision. Meanwhile, attorneys general in DuPage and Kane counties asked the top court to issue an order providing clarity with the state seemingly headed into the new year with more than half the state maintaining the old cash bail system and the remaining 38 counties — including Cook — ushering in a cashless bail era.

The Illinois Supreme Court has temporarily halted the implementation of the cashless bail provisions of the SAFE-T Act statewide, meaning the Pretrial Fairness Act will not go into effect on January 1st, 2023