| Good morning, Chicago. Illinois became the first state to end cash bail in 2021 when the SAFE-T Act, containing the Pretrial Fairness Act, passed. Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen Burke reports that many judges now turn to electronic monitoring more often when faced with the choice of jailing or releasing a defendant, resulting in the number of people in the program growing from fewer than 500 in 2010 to roughly 3,000 today. “The problem is that electronic monitoring is not detention, and it should not be treated as an appropriate alternative when someone poses a danger to the public,” Burke writes in an op-ed today. She supports the basic tenets of the Pretrial Fairness Act but calls for changes in how Cook County manages its electronic monitoring program. Chicago Public Schools teachers went back to work this week preparing for students’ first day on Monday. New school board members, including its president, are set to be elected this fall, leaving a lot of unknowns as CPS heads into a new academic year. There are five candidates running for school board president, and I asked them to write down their thoughts on the controversial budget the board passed and what CPS must do now. Read all of their responses below. The school board also concerns the editorial board, specifically the two unions trying to influence the election — the Service Employees International Union and the Chicago Teachers Union. The CTU has isolated itself from its allies like SEIU and is “doing precisely the opposite of what one needs to do to be successful in politics,” the board writes in its first piece today. Also today, the board digs into GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey’s idea to eliminate tolls on Illinois highways. Sounds great, but the board needs to see the math. In letters to the editor, our readers weigh in on possible ethics reform in Springfield. Thanks for reading. — Grace Miserocchi, opinion editor Submit an op-ed | Submit a letter to the editor | Meet the Tribune Editorial Board | Subscribe to this newsletter | 
