McHenry Times

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.