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State lawmakers approved changes to the SAFE-T Act Thursday
before leaving for the rest of the calendar year. Changes
include a list of serious crimes that defendants can be held on
before trial.
During debate, Republicans pointed out problems they say remain.
State Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andalusia, said the whole thing has
been flawed from the beginning.
“I’m going to give you a little prediction about how it’s gonna
go from here. You pass bad policy. We point it out. You call us
fear mongers. Now, people are on to you and you say ‘oh … we
better fix that,” Anderson said.
Democrats said passing amendments to laws is what legislators
do. Supporters of ending cash bail say people are innocent until
proven guilty and shouldn’t have to languish behind bars because
they can't afford bail.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has yet to sign the changes into law.
“I’m pleased that the General Assembly has upheld the principles
we fought to protect, including bringing an end to a system
where those charged with violent offenses can buy their way out
of jail, while others who are poor and charged with nonviolent
offenses wait in jail for trial,” Pritzker said in a statement.
As of Friday, the amendments had not been advanced to the
governor’s desk. Regardless, no cash bail without the amendments
begins Jan. 1.
Illinois Sheriffs’ Association Executive Director Jim Kaitschuk
said law enforcement were already gearing up for the Pretrial
Fairness Act before the changes lawmakers approved.
“And now there’s going to be kind of a reboot on that to see how
these changes affect the different policies and practices that
we were going to put in place in January,” Kaitschuk told The
Center Square.
Adding to the pressures in the final weeks of the year is a
lawsuit dozens of state’s attorneys and sheriffs have against
the law’s implementation to be heard next week in Kankakee
County.
“The judge will make a determination the following week,”
Kaitschuk said. “I don’t now what the process will be moving
forward.”
Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and
other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of
award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning
Newsfeed out of Springfield.
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