Prairie State Wire

A Democratic legislator supporting Illinois' criminal justice reform bill said that lawmakers could "no longer delay" the changes that have been needed.

The state House and Senate approved the reform legislation on Jan. 13, eliminating cash bail among other reforms during the 101st General Assembly's final hours.

"We can no longer delay, distract and deny the damage that has been caused to our communities," Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) said, the local Patch site reported. "The time is now to act."

By 2025, the legislation also requires that officers wear body cameras. Additional measures in the bill included revoking certification for officers found to have been involved in misconduct. It also creates a public database to view an officer's certification.

The end of cash bail will help keep dangerous criminals behind bars rather than releasing them back into the public, which puts more stress and strain on police officers seeking out the guilty or suspected guilty of certain crimes.

The Chicago Democrat added that he is hopeful his legislation, once signed and implemented, will end the situation of having two different justice systems for people of color and white America.

"There should not be a situation when an individual, when they come into contact with law enforcement, that they should fear for their lives," Sims said. "When a young person sees those lights of a police car, they're thinking about whether or not they're going to get a ticket, but for a Black young person, they are fearing if they are actually going to go home."

Lawmakers pushed forward with the reform legislation following multiple Black Americans being killed by police officers recently, including the high-profile death of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and Breonna Taylor, who was shot by police in her Louisville, Kentucky home.