Protesters To Meet With Judge After Chicago Courthouse Shutdown

CHICAGO — Demonstrators pushing for an end to cash bail in Cook County shut down the entrance of the Leighton Criminal Courthouse Tuesday afternoon. Organized by coalition of activist groups, a group of seven seminarians and eight other activists occupied the lobby of the court building starting around 3 p.m. to demand an end to unaffordable bails and the resignation or removal of the judges responsible for setting them.

The group expected to get arrested, but as afternoon turned into evening and staff emptied out of the courthouse, sheriff's deputies did not move in to take the demonstrators into custody. Instead, the protesters emerged around 7:30 p.m. following negotiations with county officials to announce they had secured a meeting with Chief Judge Timothy Evans.

The protest was organized by Black Lives Matter Chicago, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (S.O.U.L.), Masjid Al-Rabia, The People's Lobby and A Just Harvest.

S.O.U.L organizer Ab Weeks announced the group had confirmed a meeting with Evans for Nov. 13. They planned to demand the release of 2,500 pretrial detainees being held with unaffordable bonds in violation of the judge's order and an end to the practice of setting bails at levels defendants cannot afford.

"The bail system unjustly incarcerates black and brown poor communities," Weeks said. "And we will continue to fight until the 2,500 are released."

Among the 15 demonstrators who initially planned to get arrested was state Sen. Daniel Biss, the Evanston Democrat who ran a distant second in the gubernatorial primary to nominee J.B. Pritzker.

"Cash bail is immoral. It's just not right. And there's been a lot of energy around fixing it and not as much action as we need," Biss said. "We were tired of waiting. It was time to put our bodies in this building to demonstrate the extent of our commitment to this issue, and we made a little bit of progress. One step at a time."

Outside, protesters sang and held signs reading, "Guilty Until Proven Wealthy," and "Profit From Pain In Inhumane," a reference to the $100 fee provided to the Cook County Clerk's Office for each cash bond ordered.

Mahdia Lynn of the Al-Rabia Mosque, which includes a prison ministry, said it was a "moral and ethical responsibility to stand up for the people who are getting left behind." She said obtaining a meeting with Chief Judge Evans was a positive step forward.

"We have built this momentum here that is clearly showing that there is forward movement in the city right now toward justice," Lynn said. "Things are changing in this city, and they're changing for the better and it's because of things like this and people like us standing up and yelling when we need to."

Read more: One Cook County Judge Still Setting High Cash Bail

Patch editor Jonah Meadows contributed.