Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Most people in the U.S. who are being held in jail have not been convicted of a crime. Instead, they are awaiting trial. For some, that wait can take weeks or even years if they can't afford to pay a cash bail to be released. That practice is controversial. While a few states have taken steps to change their cash bail system, Illinois will become the first to ditch it entirely. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports. CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE: Critics of cash bail have a name for it. They call it the poor people's tax, leaving those who can't come up with the money for bail stuck in jail while they wait for their case to be heard. Fifty-seven-year-old Flonard Wrencher says he knows all about that.