From the press release:
Champaign County Bailout Coalition Conducts Mass Bailout for All Individuals Incarcerated for Protesting Police Violence in Champaign-Urbana
Yesterday, Champaign County Bailout Coalition (CCBC) paid more than $46,000 in bonds for the release of 16 individuals in Champaign County Jail after Saturday and Sunday’s protests of police violence against George Floyd.The bailout was made possible by a sizable donation from the Chicago Community Bond Fund and increased community support inspired by nationwide protests, including the local June 1 march from the Urbana Courthouse to the Champaign Police Department.
During the mass bailout, several community volunteers were on call, waiting to drive home individuals without transportation after their release. Others brought water, snacks, and hand-sanitizer for those released from the jail where they had been held without bail for 48 hours, provided substandard nourishment, and packed into unsanitary cells.
“This action is absolutely necessary,” said CCBC volunteer Chibundo Egwuatu. “We’re in the middle of a pandemic, and jails are recognized hotspots for coronavirus. Nothing is gained by locking people up for taking action against police violence. Human life is more valuable than a broken window.”
CCBC’s action follows their April 17 bailout of Aleyah Lewis, whose video-recorded assault by Urbana police officers enraged the Champaign-Urbana community, as well as more than two months of community actions calling on local officials to release as many people as possible from the Champaign County Jail in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“Coronavirus has had a greater impact on Black communities, and placing 27, mostly Black folks in cages where the virus will spread only reinforces that inequality. Not to mention the youth that were arrested and held at the Juvenile Detention Center,” said Molly Galloway of CCBC. “Those arrests were another affirmation from the courts and from the cops that as far as Champaign County is concerned, Black lives don’t matter.”
CCBC’s recent actions in Champaign-Urbana are in concert with anti-bail groups currently engaged in similar activities throughout the state as part of the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice, including major donor Chicago Community Bond Fund. These activities aim not to assist the money bail system but to abolish money bail and wealth-based incarceration, and invest in social services.
“The Chicago Community Bond Fund is proud to support the crucial work being done by the Champaign County Bail Out Coalition and all Illinoisans taking the streets to demand justice for Black communities harmed by police violence. Assata Shakur said, ‘we must love and protect each other.’ For CCBF, that means leveraging our resources to free people from jails as quickly as possible,” said Matthew McLoughlin, Director of Programs for the Chicago Community Bond Fund. “We are proud to have had the opportunity to stand with people of Champaign-Ubana.”
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