Kane County Reporter

On Sept. 1, Rep. Jeff Keicher joined Senator Don DeWitte, Sen. Dave Syverson, and Rep. Dan Ugaste to host a roundtable in Burlington. This event brought the legislators and local first responders together to discuss what the end of cash bail just might mean in their communities.

"As the elimination of cash bail is set to take effect on September 18, it is more important than ever that our first responders are prepared for the ramifications this change poses to public safety," Keicher said. "I’m thankful that our police and fire personnel throughout the region have worked diligently to prepare for the challenges and unintended consequences posed by the so-called ‘SAFE-T’ Act, but it is obvious we cannot stop working on solutions to improve public safety and support our first responders."

More than a month ago, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the provision of the SAFE-T Act that eliminates cash bail as constitutional. It was a 5-2 vote, according to an ABC7 report dated July 18. This provision would have gone into effect on Jan. 1, but legal challenges put it in limbo, and even the State Supreme Court itself stopped this provision from taking effect nearly eight months ago.

In his Facebook post, Keicher shared a link to a newsletter that discussed the roundtable event. Keicher was joined by DeWitte, Syverson, and Ugaste to host the roundtable discussion, which included more than four dozen emergency personnel as well. 

“It was my pleasure to help put this roundtable discussion together, and I was pleased to see such a great turnout,” DeWitte said. “After hearing Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser and 16th Judicial Circuit (Kane County) Chief Judge Clint Hull discuss how the SAFE-T Act and no-cash-bail will be rolled out in this region, it is clear to me that our community leaders are prepared for the upcoming September 18 deadline for implementation of these new mandates.”

The Illinois State Bar Association discussed one change under the new law that will go into effect and stay in effect until March 18, 2024. That is, pretrial hearings must be held within 48 hours of an individual’s arrest – and while the law says they must be held in person, there is some leeway and ability of the Chief Judge of a circuit court to allow for these hearings to be held remotely, with two-way audiovisual communication systems. The State Supreme Court's order on this issue can be found here.