Will County Gazette

House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Burr Ridge) argues Democrats’ record in terms of keeping crime down and the state safe speaks for itself.

“The bills that they have passed, the Democrats have crippled law enforcement, broken our court system and created a consequence-free Illinois for criminals,” Durkin said during a recent news conference on efforts to repeal the SAFE-T Act. “We see the results every day, whether it's on the television, in the newspaper or on the radio. It’s heartbreaking on a daily basis.”

Durkin points to the passage of SAFE-T as the latest example. Among other measures, House Bill 3653 mandates body cameras for all officers and the end of the cash-bail system for all non-violent offenders.

Since the bill became law, Republicans argue the crime rate has soared, with murders, carjacking and retail thefts all dramatically on the rise. In addition, a record numbers of officers have resigned, with more than half of the state’s 102 counties now having a vacancy in the sheriff's office.

"Illinois has become the wild, wild Midwest and all the residents across Illinois are paying the price for these failures,” Durkin said.

Durkin said Democrats who had passed the bill are now saying changes need to be made.

“It's interesting that those who did support this bill who were all high-fiving and hugging each other last January are now rolling up their sleeves and saying we got to get to the bottom of this crime epidemic,” he said. “Well, they’re a little late.”

Durkin also argues actions speak louder than words.

“Just a few weeks ago, the Democrats attempted to make a minor fix or a tweak to the problems they created when they rushed to dismantle law enforcement in Illinois last year,” he said. “Last January, with this defund-the-police bill, the bill would allow domestic abusers to call the wife, the girlfriend or the child they abused from lockup a minimum of six times while they are being detained without any restrictions. Those will be calls of intimidation. This is ridiculous; it's reckless I raised these issues on the floor of the House of Representatives and the sponsor of the bill was not able to respond.”

Durkin also points to a bill that he said passed the House last spring that will no longer classify the possession of fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamines as felonies.

“Fentanyl is probably the largest, maybe the second largest public safety concern in the United States,” he said. “And the Democrats are treating this crime as if it's an open six-pack of beer. They are horribly tone-deaf on issues relating to public safety. We need to repeal House Bill 3653, start it over and start getting serious with criminals.”

State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) has filed legislation he argues will do just that.

Caulkins’ SAFE-T Act amendment bill seeks to increase the penalties for criminals who use a gun in an aggravated carjacking. That bill will also require a district attorney and a judge to submit an explanation if they choose to allow a suspect to plead a gun case down to a lesser charge.

“If someone gets arrested, a felon in possession of a gun, or illegal discharge of a gun, or using the gun in commission of a crime, what we’re saying in this bill ... the public has a right to know why,” he said. “If they plead that out, and say we’re just getting you for aggravated battery and drop the gun charges, the public ought to know why that happened.”

The bill now sits in the Criminal Justice Committee.