|
No
other measure as part of the controversial criminal justice
reform SAFE-T Act has drawn more attention than the Pretrial
Fairness Act, which abolished cash bail on Jan. 1.
State’s attorneys contend the provision will allow violent
offenders to be released with a higher burden of proof required
to hold them before trial.
State Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, a driving force behind
the SAFE-T Act, has accused Republicans opposed to measures of a
“bad stench of racism.”
At a recent event, Will County State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow
urged voters to support anyone who will throw out the SAFE-T
Act.
“You as the electorate need to demand that anybody running for
election in November is going to vote to repeal this bill,” said
Glasgow. “It will destroy the state of Illinois. I have 640
people in the Will County jail. All their bonds will be
extinguished on Jan. 1, and 60 are charged with murder.”
Prosecutors are required to submit a request for detention if
the offender committed a crime that poses a significant threat
to public safety of an individual or community. The state is
also required to provide each suspect a hearing within 48 hours
to determine if the suspect should be released.
Glasgow said it’s nearly impossible to provide evidence needed
within that time period since it takes time to review the
evidence.
The People’s Lobby, a member of the Illinois Network for
Pretrial Justice, issued a statement that said Glasgow is
peddling fear and that the law dismantles a “harmful system that
disproportionately targets Black and Brown Illinoisans and
replaces it with one that is data and safety-driven.”
During a Paul Simon Public Policy Institute appearance last
spring, dtate Sen. Dale Fowler, R-Harrisburg, said some
Democrats may have realized they may have gone too far with some
of the changes to the criminal justice system.
“The fact that a lot of the Democrats saw that some of the
issues that they may have not seen in the fine print of the
legislation, so they see that there are some repeals that need
to be made,” he said.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in
Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of
experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.
|
|
