Will County Gazette

Illinois State Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove) this week continued to speak out against the SAFE-T Act, an omnibus 'criminal justice reform bill Democrats in Springfield passed last January.

Curran and other Republicans have been extremely vocal in their criticism of the bill, parts of which have already taken effect with others scheduled to do so come the first of the year. They believe the law will do more harm than good for the people who live in the Prairie State. 

"Without a legislative fix, provisions of the SAFE-T Act that actually threaten public safety will take effect on January 1, 2023," Curran wrote in a June 13 Facebook post. "On this week's Flannery Fired Up program, I join House Democrat Kam Buckner for a discussion of the problematic bill. Please watch the segment and learn about my efforts to fix the inherent problems with this new law."

In the video which aired on Fox 32 Chicago, Curran said the first thing he would fix about the SAFE-T Act is "the detention standards or lack thereof."

"There's no magic to cash bail," Curran told FOX 32 Chicago. "The ability to pay a bond has no correlation to whether or not someone poses a risk to public safety, this is what state's attorneys around the state have been warning us about."

Last month, DuPage County State's Attorney Bob Berlin joined several suburban state attorneys in expressing their concerns over the SAFE-T Act, the Shaw Local News Network reported. Berlin said he fears the law will allow more violent criminals out on the streets, which would have a negative impact on communities across the state.

"Take, for instance, the December shooting at Oakbrook Mall two days before Christmas," Berlin said during a forum at Eola Community Center in Aurora. "I hear from so many people in the community that are now afraid to go to that mall. That's the kind of impact that a shooting has on an entire community."

Supporters of the law, including the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, believe it's making the justice system more equal for minorities, according to Capitol News Illinois. Republican counterparts have called the law a "de facto defund the police bill" because of the additional regulations it places on law enforcement. 

The news outlet reported one of the changes under the law would eliminate cash bail as of January 1, 2023.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, under the law defendants awaiting trial on home confinement now have the ability to move freely without electronic monitoring twice a week. Lawmakers aimed to have defendants use that time to find a job, go to school, grocery shop, or receive treatment, but in the first three months about two dozen people were arrested in Cook County during what's called their "essential movement" days. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, a Democrat, has already called for an end to the "essential movement" provision.