Marion County Circuit Clerk Tiffany Schicker told the Marion County Board Tuesday night the county and other governmental units are looking at a substantial loss of revenue with the phase out of cash bond over the next few years.
She reported for the last fiscal year the county collected $373,806 in bonds. $137,702 was refunded to those who posted bonds, with $236,103 being disbursed to other agencies as part of fines and fees. Shicker notes under the Police Reform Bill signed into law by Governor Pritzker bonds will only be
collected in violent felony cases and she’s unsure how much money will still be collected.
Shicker says the first money will be lost this July when the 10-percent clerk’s fee on bonds is eliminated.
“We will probably have goals that they will set for us so this time frame where we have to cut off our 10% court fees in July I don’t know if I will get another deadline to stop another fee. So it may be sort of a gradual rolling effect just chipping away at those fees until we get to 2023. I don’t have additional information on that yet.”
Shicker says they are looking at ways to be more cost-efficient since revenues will be down.
Law Enforcement Committee Chair and Centralia Police Department Administrative Sergeant Steve Whritenour says as bad as the Police Reform Bill is there have now been at least a half dozen trailer bills filed.
“The Governor already signs and unfortunately I think this is the tip of the iceberg. We are basically decriminalizing crime in Illinois. It’s very scary.”
Whritenour says police organizations will be pushing for the legislature to look at real police reform. He notes one of the bills filed this year would also give legislators all the powers of police.
County Board Chair Debbie Smith thanked Schicker and Whritenour for the update.
“This is depressing but this is what we have to face and will have to make adjustments.”
Another county board member Jim Purcell reacted….”we’ll go broke”.
