West Cook News

Former Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel is calling the Safe-T Act a “purge” law that will exponentially increase already high criminal activity rates. 

Weitzel argued that the measure is a "disrespect" to law enforcement for excluding their insights. 

"We told them this wasn't a good idea," Weitzel said in an interview with The Sun. "I think it was just a knee jerk reaction to what happened in Minneapolis, and the politicians want to say Illinois is the first state to end cash bail.” 

Weitzel said the change in cash bail presented by the Safe-T Act would upend criminal justice. 

“I don't want Illinois to be a social experiment. And you don't experiment with criminal justice. Lives are at risk,” he said. 

He said law enforcement should be heard in the debate otherwise there would be challenges to addressing safety concerns. 

"If they don't include police officers themselves and/or police chiefs, in my opinion, the report and analysis would be flawed,” Weitzel said. "The pendulum always swings from one extreme to the other and then swings back. But if we don't take action, the pendulum might not swing back to public safety.” 

When he retired from the force in 2021 Weitzel noted he felt the police do not “arrest our way out of crime” any longer. Weitzel was a career officer who survived a shotgun blast to the chest in 1987, Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Weitzel was later noted by the city for his work. Village President Joseph A. Ballerine provided a proclamation in his honor.

The former police chief is still active in the law enforcement community and frequently comments on Twitter.

"No chief can be successful without his officer," Weitzel said during his speech after being presented with the plaque of honor and certificate of retirement in recognition of his 37 years in law enforcement.

Weitzel served since 1984.