With the so-called SAFE-T Act slated to take effect on Jan. 1, the groundswell against the legislation that stands to do away with the cash bail system is building.
During the month of September, several Illinois State’s Attorneys filed suits against the state in an attempt to stop the law from officially becoming law.
Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow (D) recently filed suit against the state where he directly names Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Speaker of the House Emanuel Welch and Donald Harmon as defendants. The complaint lists charges that SAFE-T violates numerous sections of the Illinois Constitution, including bills, “shall be confined to one subject” and “[a] bill shall be read by title on three different days in each house.”
Glasgow maintains his motivation for taking action is clear.
“It is my sworn duty as Will County’s State’s Attorney to protect the people of Will County and the State of Illinois,” he added in a press release. “To put it in plain and simple terms, this is not about politics; it is about public safety.”
Glasgow is far from alone in being moved to action, with Kankakee State’s Attorney Jim Rowe (D) also filing suit where he names Pritzker and Raoul as defendants and seeks to have SAFE-T declared unconstitutional.
“What’s happening here is the real-world manifestation of the phrase screaming from the rooftops,” said People Who Play by the Rules spokesman Mike Koolidge. “We absolutely applaud this effort [and] we encourage other leaders at every level, and of both parties, to think outside the box like this.”
While the Daily Journal reports Pritzker has responded by classifying the lawsuit as ‘a weak attempt to protect the status quo’ allowing violent criminals to buy their freedom, SafeWise’s annual 2022 State of Safety survey found that only 42% of Illinois residents report feeling safe. By contrast, 64% reported feeling “high daily concern” for their safety and 13% reported having experiencing gun violence firsthand, an increase from 8% the previous year. At the same time, mass shooting incidents in Illinois increased by 25% from 2020 to 2021.
When recently pressed about the bill, The Center Square reports Pritzker defended the elimination of cash bail by arguing, “We do not want someone in jail because they were arrested for a low-level crime like shoplifting to be sitting in jail for months or maybe even years. At the same time, someone who is a wealthy drug dealer, perhaps accused of murder and arrested, can show up with a suitcase full of money and get out of jail.”
