West Cook News

State Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove) recently reposted a video on Facebook from 2021 in which he highlighted several issues associated with the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act, or SAFE-T Act, which is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

In the video, Curran argues that the legislation would impose unnecessary restrictions on police departments and outlined how communities would be less protected, particularly with the elimination of cash bail.

"First and foremost, this is going to harm public safety in our community," Curran stated, "In our current pre-trial system, if an individual is deemed by a judge to be a threat to public safety,  the community at large, they are detained, they are held, or they are set a significant bail to reduce that threat; this bill does away with that standard completely."

Radio station 97 ZOK recently posted a list circulating on the internet of "non-detainable offenses" that would not require pre-trial detention. The list included aggravated battery, aggravated DUI, aggravated fleeing, arson, burglary, drug-induced homicide, intimidation, kidnapping, robbery, 2nd-degree murder and threatening a public official.

The governor's office released a press release stating under the SAFE-T Act "there is no such thing as a non-detainable offense," and that defendents would be held "based on risk not riches."

Gov. J.B. Pritzker in August defended the abolition of cash bail for certain crimes, despite objections from law enforcement agencies throughout the state, the Center Square reports.

"We do not want someone in jail because they were arrested for a low-level crime like shoplifting to be sitting in jail for months or maybe even years," Pritzker said. "At the same time, someone who is a wealthy drug dealer, perhaps accused of murder and arrested, can show up with a suitcase full of money and get out of jail."

In addition, some proponents of the SAFE-T act, such as the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, contend that the law is a step toward establishing a more equitable judicial system for minorities, Capitol News Illinois reports.

Republicans, however, have dubbed the SAFE-T Act a "de facto defund the police bill" due to the added regulations it imposes on police officers.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, a section of the SAFE-T Act, which came into effect in early January, permits criminal defendants under house arrest to move freely two days each week without electronic monitoring.

These defendants are expected to utilize this time to seek work, attend school, get treatment for substance abuse or mental illness, or shop for groceries.

However, the Chicago Sun-Times also reports that during the first three months of 2022, approximately two dozen individuals were detained in Cook County during these "essential movement" days.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, a Democrat, has argued for the elimination of this "essential movement" provision.

“At a bare minimum, they should say, ‘If you’re charged with a violent offense, and you’re given home monitoring, you don’t get to wander around free for two days a week," Dart stated.

According to SafeWise's annual 2022 State of Safety survey, just 42% of Illinois residents reported feeling safe in the state, while 64% expressed "high daily concern" regarding their safety.

In addition, 13% of respondents reported a firsthand experience with gun violence, an increase of 8% from 2021 and the frequency of mass shootings in Illinois increased by 25% between 2020 and 2021.