Judge to determine what happens next with no cash bail
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[December 28, 2022]
By Andrew Hensel | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – A controversial law ending cash bail Jan. 1
dominated Illinois' political debate in 2022. But implementation awaits
a decision from a Kankakee County judge in a lawsuit brought by more
than 60 state's attorneys from across Illinois.
The Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity Today, or SAFE-T Act,
was approved by the General Assembly in January 2021. It makes several
changes to the criminal justice system in the state, including
eliminating cash bail statewide, making Illinois the first state to do
so.
The measure was met with pushback from large segments of the law
enforcement community statewide, who say the act could allow harmful to
allow alleged criminals back on the street as they await trial.
In November, state Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, said the passage of
the SAFE-T Act was unconstitutional.
"We are at a particular point where this goes into effect on Jan. 1, and
we got ... state attorneys that are highly questioning this particular
piece of legislation," Niemerg told The Center Square. "Furthermore, the
constitutionality of the measure is very much in question."
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who won a second term in November, suggested changes
to the bill's language to clear up any misunderstanding.
"So let us amend the act to make it very explicit," Pritzker said in
October. "Those violent criminals that are in jail awaiting trial, that
Jan. 1 is not some deadline to let people out."
Pritzker said the SAFE-T Act intends to do the opposite of what he said
Republicans claim it will do.
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A screenshot of a recent virtual meeting
of SAFE-T Act supporters
"One of the purposes of the SAFE-T Act is to keep our neighborhoods
safe," Pritzker said. "It is to make sure that people who are awaiting
trial and are non-violent, who may have committed a low-level offense,
do not sit in jail because they do not have a few hundred dollars."
The measure went to court, with dozens of state's attorneys filing
separate lawsuits. Those were later consolidated into a single case out
of Kankakee County.
After the election, state lawmakers came back to legislative session and
passed an amendment to the SAFE-T Act that creates a net of detainable
offenses an individual can be held pending trial, among other changes.
That didn't deter the legal challenge.
Kankakee County State's Attorney Jim Rowe argued against the SAFE-T Act
last week. Rowe claimed the measure was unconstitutional by violating
the state's single-subject law, which confines legislation to only one
subject. In addition, he argued that the whole measure is invalid
because there is a provision related to redistricting maps.
Darren Kinkead, who argued on behalf of the state, claimed the measure
does not violate any single-subject laws because the redistricting would
have to do with prisoners and would be included as a part of the
criminal justice system.
The Kankakee County judge said he would render a decision in this case
by Dec. 28, just days before no-cash bail takes effect.
Andrew Hensel has years of experience as a
reporter and pre-game host for the Joliet Slammers, and as a
producer for the Windy City Bulls. A graduate of Iowa Wesleyan
University and Illinois Media School, Andrew lives in the south
suburbs of Chicago. |