Prairie State Wire

U.S. Senate candidate Kathy Salvi is calling out state lawmakers over the upcoming enactment of the Safe-T Act.

The Safe-T Act is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2023. It will create greater limitations on how long authorities can hold someone for an alleged crime.

“Setting criminals charged with crimes like second degree murder, aggravated battery and drug-induced homicide free without bond is just horrible for the people of Illinois,” Salvi said.

“The SAFE-T Act will have the exact opposite effect. It should be called the un-SAFE-T Act.”

“Cashless bail creates a catch and release system for violent criminals and leaves our communities unsafe."

“This law specifically proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that Democrats – including Joe Biden, state’s attorneys Kim Foxx in Cook County and Eric Rinehart in Lake County, and my campaign opponent Tammy Duckworth - are soft on crime.”

“I will fight against cashless bail and restore the rule of law and safety to our streets.”

The bill would result in the release of thousands of criminals who are now being imprisoned in state prisons while they await trial for serious charges on Jan. 1.

If the Safe-T Act is carried out as intended, those accused of the most horrific crimes—such as robbery, kidnapping, arson, second-degree murder, intimidation, aggravated battery, aggravated DUI, aggravated flight, drug-related homicide, and threatening a public official—will be freed.

In Winnebago County it is estimated that around half of the jail’s population – 400 inmates – will be released when the Safe-T Act goes into effect.

Winnebego County States Attorney J. Hanley wrote an op-ed in the Rockford Register Star on the issue.

“Approximately 400 criminal defendants will be released back into our community because our Illinois legislators passed the “SAFE-T Act” back in 2020,’” Hanley wrote.

Johnson County Sheriff Peter Sopczak said his jail will empty out too.

“Anyone sitting in jail right now with all these pending charges, they’re going to be let out,” Sopczak said. “The gates are open and they’re going to be let out onto the streets.”

In Illinois, 100 of the 102 state attorneys support repealing or changing the statute.

Eric Rinehart, the state's attorney for Lake County, and Kim Foxx, the state's attorney for Cook County, are the only two exceptions.

Foxx is a noted leftist whose current rules are in line with the Safe-T Act.

Under her leadership, the crime rate in Cook County significantly increased.

Shootings and other crimes are rising in Chicago, and their effects are spreading to the adjacent suburbs.

Murder rates have recently risen to previously unheard-of heights, surpassing those in 1994.

So far in 2022, there have been more car thefts, thefts and break-ins.