Video Bail Hearings at 26th Street Finished

Since 1999, individuals newly arrested have stood in front of a camera in the basement of the courthouse at 26th and California while the judge sitting in the courtroom above them presided over their bond hearing. Starting Monday, this process has been eliminated. Many attorneys have argued for years that a video bond hearing violates an individuals constitution right to be present in court. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart hopes that by ending these video bond hearings and bringing individuals in front of judges, it will ease overcrowding in the jail by giving judges a better idea of whether someone should be released on bond or held in custody in the jail. This is also part of Sheriff Dart's effort to give judges the final say so in whether someone should be eligible to be released on electronic monitoring.

Sheriff's Dart's ultimate goal is to ease overcrowding in the Cook County Jail.

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