Kane County Reporter

State Representative for House District 66 candidate Connie Cain is pushing back against SAFTE-T Act, which is set to take effect on Jan. 1.

Critics say the criminal-friendly justice system overhaul will result in thousands of alleged criminals, some accused of the worst crimes such as murder, being released.

“The Illinois Democrats know they messed up big time by fundamentally changing the way we deal with criminals in our state by passing the SAFE-T Act,” Cain said in a statement. “This radical piece of legislation is composed of national policy initiatives that completely disregard the rights of victims, the discretion of the judicial branch, and our local law enforcement's ability to keep us safe. I am calling on the Illinois General Assembly to repeal this nonsense law and bring all stakeholders back to the table to collaborate on real solutions to keep our families safe.”

Illinois families, according to Cain, "should not be subject to a testing experiment for a radical change of our law enforcement and criminal justice system." She stressed that 'one life lost is one life too many.'

"Let's keep our neighborhoods and children safe," Cain recently said, posting a link to a petition form to repeal the SAFE-T Act. "Let's not allow Illinois to be the 1st state in the country to eliminate the cash bail system." 

Many have been warning of the impending release of prisoners across the state currently being held captive awaiting trial for serious crimes, according to Will County Gazette. The bill requires courts to increase the processing speed of those awaiting trial. If it goes into effect as planned, the Safe-T Act will result in the release of those charged with the most serious crimes including robbery, kidnapping, arson, second-degree murder, intimidation, aggravated battery, aggravated DUI, aggravated flight, drug-related homicide, and threatening a public official. 

Cain’s opponent, incumbent State. Rep. Suzanne Ness (D-Crystal Lake) noted her support for the Safe-T Act at the time of its passage, Shaw Local reported.

Ness also voted in favor of a law decriminalizing hard drugs such as heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine. Ness’ vote was needed to pass the controversial legislation which snuck by with only a razor-thin two votes to spare when voted on in the House.

Cain was the winner of a tight primary battle back in June. The Gilberts resident is a reformist conservative. “We fought hard against the establishment and the primary showed them just that. They spent a lot of money to take us out,” she said at the time of her victory.