Unfortunately, Democrats continues to back legislation that puts innocent people at risk while blocking any attempts at needed reforms.
The SAFE-T Act and its Pre-Trial Fairness Act provision, which abolished cash bail in Illinois, has created a revolving door for dangerous criminals to remain on the streets instead of behind bars.
Every citizen of Illinois deserves to live free of fear as they live, work, and raise a family. The SAFE-T Act has made communities less safe and criminals even more brazen. We must prioritize the safety of Illinois residents and that starts with public safety reforms.
For example, I cosponsor HB5757, legislation that ensures individuals who commit a new felony while on pretrial release are no longer allowed to remain in the community.
We must bring back commonsense policies that improve public safety for every community in Illinois.
House Republicans have introduced more than 40 bills to fix flaws in the SAFE-T Act, strengthen accountability, and restore balance to Illinois’ criminal justice system. Those reforms have been repeatedly ignored.
How can Democrats continue to stand by a policy that keeps failing after tragedies stack up? A Chicago police officer is dead and another remains in critical condition. What more will it take for Democrats to get serious about fixing the SAFE-T Act?
CTA arson attack suspect was on Illinois release status after 72 prior arrests. The suspect in the November 17 CTA Blue Line attack, in which a victim was doused with gasoline and set on fire, is a person who had previously been arrested on serious criminal charges and then released into what the court called “home confinement.” A pervasive pattern of home-confinement violations has been repeatedly observed in Chicago and Cook County…read more.
The SAFE-T Act is Dangerous and Must Be Repealed