Kane County Reporter

Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Lake Barrington) is pushing bills to repeal the sweeping criminal justice reform SAFE-T Act.

“Last week, I signed on to co-sponsor HB 4475, HB 4497, HB 4498, HB 4499 and HR598, bills calling for the repeal of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act and for the restoration of monetary bail,” Rep. Martin McLaughlin wrote on Facebook. "The SAFE-T Act will put the public and law enforcement officers at greater risk than ever before. That's why I, along with the State's Attorneys in 100 out of 102 counties in Illinois oppose the Safe-T Act."

Supporters of the SAFE-T Act, including the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, point to the legislation as a step toward making the justice system more equitable for minorities. Republicans have called the SAFE-T Act a “de facto defund the police bill" because of the additional regulations it places on police officers.

One hundred of Illinois' 102 state’s attorneys have said they oppose the SAFE-T Act, CBN News reported.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said last week at a campaign stop that he is open to considering small changes to the bill, the Lake & McHenry County Scanner reported. After saying he felt that some people don't understand the bill and are spreading misinformation about it, he said, "Well again, I am willing to consider tweaks to the legislation. The legislation is about providing tools and technology to police, making sure we are funding them, and making sure we keep the murderers, rapists, and domestic abusers in jail.”

Illinois will be the first state in the country to eliminate cash bail when the provision goes into effect.

Democratic state's attorney Jim Rowe of Kankakee has filed suit to repeal the SAFE-T Act, Fox 2 News reported. Rowe alleges that the legislation amends the Illinois Constitution, which can only legally be done via ballot measure. “The Safe-T Act has effectively violated this section of the Illinois Constitution without a referendum vote of the people,” Rowe said. “The legislature does not have that power.” 

Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) retorted, "For all of these folks who are all of a sudden strict constitutionalists when it comes to the Illinois Constitution, I’ll remind them the death penalty is also in the Illinois Constitution."