The Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force (Task Force) hosted its fifth in a series of town hall meetings on September 29 via Zoom on the topic of Practical Guidance for Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) Implementation in anticipation of the upcoming PFA implementation in 2023.

The Hon. Robbin Stuckert (ret.) serves as Chair of the Task Force and served as the lead for the Town Hall meeting. Presenters included Alison Shames, a Director at the Center for Effective Public Policy (CEPP), Matt Alsdorf, an Associate Director at the CEPP, and Tara Boh Blair, a consultant at the CEPP.

The speakers from CEPP previewed a toolkit which provides counties with a road map for how to move forward with implementation and a framework for local decision-making and discussed the experiences of PFA pilot sites. The speakers then answered questions from attendees regarding the implementation process.

The Town Hall meetings are intended to update court stakeholders on the work of the Task Force as it prepares for the changes coming once the PFA goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

Future town hall meetings are scheduled for October 27 and November 17. More information is available on the website and any questions regarding the town halls and the work of the Task Force can be sent to pretrialtaskforce@illinoiscourts.gov.