McHenry Times

Republican state Rep. Dan Ugaste argues the Criminal Justice Reform bill now being pushed by democrats in Springfield can use a bit of fine tuning.

“I understand the intent behind it and the need to address some important issues, but as the bill’s written I simply can’t support it,” Ugaste told the McHenry Times. “There simply aren’t enough parties involved to make it what it needs to be and I think things are being rushed a bit. I want to work with legislators to get this down, but it needs to be something that truly works for everyone.”

As it is, House Bill 163 seeks to enact such changes as outlawing cash bails and chokeholds and prohibiting pre-trial detention.

With the strong support of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, the bill would also expand police reform on use of force, crisis training and prohibit pre-trial detention. The proposed reforms have been a work in progress ever since the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police last summer. Finally, it also includes mandating the use of body cameras across the state by 2025 and the use of special prosecutors in police-involved killings.

In the end, Ugaste suspects that House Speaker Mike Madigan’s fingerprints may be all over the push for HB 163.

“The speaker has to be behind it given this is the first time he has us back in Springfield in more than 200 days,” he said. “There’s no question he’s working hard trying to get votes for his reelection and this push may be a part of all that. While down there, we may a few other bills put before us but they’re all small bills not on the level of HB 163.”