Kane County Reporter

Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) has voiced criticism of the Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act, calling for it to be repealed.

In a Facebook post last weekend, Ugaste shared a video highlighting the increase in violent crime since the act’s passage.

“Democrats’ SAFE-T Act has only jeopardized public safety in Illinois. We need to repeal this measure and give law enforcement the support and resources they need to protect and serve,” Ugaste wrote in the post.

According to a report by Injustice Watch, the SAFE-T Act eliminates cash bail by 2023, allows certain people accused of felonies to not have to be detained before trial and imposes restrictions on Illinois police officers. Since its introduction, law enforcement groups and police unions have voiced concern that the SAFE-T Act poses a threat to public safety, though Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has supported the legislation.

This comes as ABC News reports there were 797 homicides in Chicago in 2021 — more than there were in New York or Los Angeles, and the most the city has seen since 1996. The city also saw 3,561 shooting incidents in 2021, which was 1,415 more than in 2019.

A Chicago City Wire report states Foxx has dismissed all charges against nearly 30% of felony defendants.

During the first weekend of 2022, six individuals in Chicago were killed by gunfire and another 25 were wounded, according to FOX32 Chicago. Among the dead was a 12-year-old boy who was shot in the chest while sitting in an Englewood home. Other victims include a 22-year-old man who was found shot in the back in an alley, a woman who was found shot in the head in an alley and a 40-year-old man who was shot in the face.