|
The
legislation places restrictions on police and eliminates cash
bail on Jan. 1, making Illinois the first state to do so.
Lawmakers approved the SAFE-T Act at the urging of the
Legislative Black Caucus as part of their response to the murder
of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
A recent panel discussion was held to “dispel myths on ending
money bonds” in the state, organizers said.
One of the architects of the law, state Sen. Robert Peters,
D-Chicago, said the crime wave is a byproduct of the current
judicial system.
“What we’ve been seeing over the last couple years isn’t
happening under anything that we passed, what is happening is
under a status quo criminal legal system that is utterly
failing,” Peters said.
Over half of the 102 state’s attorneys in Illinois have filed
lawsuits against the SAFE-T Act, many of them calling the
legislation unconstitutional. They also contend the legislation
is too vague, creating problems for the state’s attorneys and
law enforcement responsible for enforcing the aspects of it that
deal with pretrial release and the elimination of cash bail.
Critics have also said the SAFE-T Act poses unreasonable risks
to crime victims by weakening the rules for charged suspects out
on electronic monitoring before trial.
Effingham County Sheriff Paul Kuhns said some of the provisions
in the SAFE-T Act regarding who can be arrested are concerning.
“I believe in reform and I believe we should always work to be
better and more transparent, but I don’t see how that is going
to make us any safer when we’re so restricted on who we can take
into custody,” Kuhns said.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has acknowledged some changes to the act may
be needed to clear up widespread confusion.
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.
|
|
