McHenry Times

State Senator Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) said he met with local law enforcement officials, who voiced their concerns about provisions of the SAFE-T Act that will take effect Jan. 1.

"Counties across the state are preparing for implementation of no cash bail, body camera, and other mandates within the SAFE-T Act. Kane County law enforcement is requesting a 50% increase in staffing to address new timeline requirements for the review of body camera and police car camera footage, and additional staffing is also being requested to meet expedited timeline provisions for mandatory initial hearings within new judicial processes. Staffing and funding concerns are not limited to Kane County. Across the board, we are hearing from local and county law enforcement that the costs of implementation of the SAFE-T Act are well beyond what municipalities and county government can afford,” said DeWitte.

Last week, DeWitte, along with State Sen. Dave Syverson and State Rep. Dan Ugaste, hosted a meeting of more than 50 local law enforcement officials and first responders to discuss provisions of the SAFE-T Act that will take effect in January, according to a newsletter. Kane County officials noted that they will be required to release around 130 detainees on Jan. 1, since their crimes will no longer be considered "holdable offenses." Many of the officials who attended the meeting expressed that they found the new expedited requirements for police incident reporting to be unrealistic.

Supporters of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act, including the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, point to the legislation as a step towards making the justice system more equitable for minorities. Republicans have called the SAFE-T Act a “de facto defund the police bill" because of the additional regulations it places on police officers. The SAFE-T will eliminate cash bail in Illinois, effective Jan. 1, 2023, which critics claim will lead to more criminals out on the streets.

Gov. Pritzker recently defended the elimination of cash bail, according to The Center Square. "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," Pritzker said. "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."

Grundy County Sheriff Ken Briley recently expressed the concern that his department will be unable to arrest people who commit certain crimes after Jan. 1, citing trespassing as an example, ABC reported. "Today, I can arrest him if you sign a complaint for trespassing," Briley said. "January 1st, I'm not going to be able to do that. The law says I have to write him a ticket and leave."