End of cash bail next week could spark more electronic monitoring, bail reform supporters fear

A transmitter on the ankle of a person on electronic monitoring. (Sun-Times file)

When Illinois next week becomes the first U.S. state to abolish cash bail, it could set off a surge in electronic monitoring.

That’s the concern of some of the bail reform law’s most fervent supporters, who say judges skittish about releasing pretrial defendants without monetary bond could turn to electronic monitoring as a substitute.