Trump says he'll "end" no cash bail in Chicago while announcing National Guard deployment to D.C.
Trump announced these moves Monday at a news conference, saying it's part of a push to crack down on crime in the nation's capital even though data from the Justice Department shows violent crime in the city is at its lowest levels in more than 30 years.
But while speaking to the media, the president turned his attention to Chicago, crime and cash bail.
"Every place in the country you have no cash bail is a disaster," Mr. Trump said. "That's what started it in New York and they won't change it, they don't want to change it. That's what started it in Chicago."
He blamed "bad" politicians, but continued, "That's where it started, no cash bail. I mean, somebody murders somebody and they're out on no cash bail before the day is out."
Mr. Trump then vowed that he would "end that in Chicago."
"We're going to change the statute," he said. "I spoke with Pam and Todd, everybody, and we're going to change the statute and we're gonna have to get the Republicans to vote because the Democrats are weak on crime. Totally weak on crime."
Illinois passed the original version of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act, known as the SAFE-T Act, in 2021, then an amended version in 2022, becoming the first state in the country to eliminate cash bail. It was put on hold hours before it was set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2023, but in July 2023 the Illinois Supreme Court ruled the law is constitutional and it took effect in September of that year.
The law applies to the entire state of Illinois, not just Chicago, and is meant to prevent people arrested for nonviolent or low-level crimes from being held in jail simply because they do not have enough money to pay cash bond or bail. Judges are given the discretion to choose if defendants should be held in custody or released, often on electronic monitoring, before trial, which advocates said will allow more dangerous people to remain in jail even if they could afford to post bond.
In September 2024, just before the first anniversary of the elimination of cash bail in Illinois, data showed there had been no rise in crime as a result of the elimination of cash bail; in fact, violent crime and property crime were both down.
The latest data on violent crime in Chicago as of July 2025 shows that trend has continued, with violent crime continuing to drop largely in line with national crime trends.
President Trump did not offer details about how he planned to "end" or "change" Illinois' no cash bail law, but he did seem to say he would rely on the Republican-controlled Congress to do so.
"We're going to change no cash bail, we're going to change the statute and get rid of some of the other things and we'll count on the Republicans in Congress and the Senate to vote," he said. "We've got the majority, so we'll vote. We don't have a big majority, but we've gotten everything, including the 'Great Big Beautiful Bill,' we got that done."
CBS News Chicago has reached out to Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for their reaction to the president's remarks and are waiting to hear back.
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