Quantcast

McHenry Times

Sunday, November 24, 2024

Wilcox: 'I have never seen this number of lawsuits filed against a piece of legislation'

Craigwilcox800

Sen. Craig Wilcox | senatorwilcox.com

Sen. Craig Wilcox | senatorwilcox.com

At last count, 23 state's attorneys have filed lawsuits against the entirety or provisions of the criminal justice reform SAFE-T Act.

“I have never seen this number of lawsuits filed against a piece of legislation adopted by the General Assembly in Illinois, and the number of suits is growing daily,” Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) wrote on Facebook.

According to ABC7, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has called the lawsuits against the SAFE-T Act a "weak attempt to protect the status quo that lets murders and abusers pay their way out of jail."

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 toward 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.

A meme making the rounds on the Internet claims the following offenses will be considered "non-detainable:" arson, burglary, aggravated battery, aggravated DUI, aggravated fleeing, drug-induced homicide, intimidation, kidnapping, robbery, threatening a public official, and 2nd degree murder. 

Pritzker took to Facebook to call these allegations "misinformation."

"Misinformation spreads like wildfire, and there are ugly lies making the rounds about the SAFE-T Act," Pritzker posted. "This law does not mandate the release of defendants or create 'non-detainable offenses.' Defendants are eligible for pre-trial release based on their risk, not their bank accounts."

McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally called the bill a "threat to public safety,” according to Lake & McHenry Scanner. His lawsuit also points to Article 4, Section 8 of the Illinois Constitution, which states that bills are required to "be confined to one subject.”

Illinois House Republicans introduced legislation to repeal the SAFE-T Act and have circulated a petition through which residents can show they support repealing the bill. As of Oct. 11, the petition had more than 10,000 signatures.

ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY

!RECEIVE ALERTS

The next time we write about any of these orgs, we’ll email you a link to the story. You may edit your settings or unsubscribe at any time.
Sign-up

DONATE

Help support the Metric Media Foundation's mission to restore community based news.
Donate

MORE NEWS