Will County Gazette

Will County State’s Attorney James W. Glasgow said that the SAFE-T Act will limit the office's authority to hold people accountable and it is unconstitutional to eliminate cash bond.

“A murderer who was on an ankle bracelet in the city of Chicago killed the person that was the eyewitness against him in the first murder. " Glasgow said. "And the next day we had a horrible shooting at a facility in Bolingbrook. And he’s in the Will County Jail on a $5 million bond. That’s incredible. The difference now we’ve got on bail coming down the pike here. That’s going to go into effect on Jan. 1. It’s called the SAFE-T Act."

The act would eliminate cash bail, which has been a concern of Glasgow.

"And then there’s the no bail portion of it. If that bill goes into effect, literally, our hands will be tied," he said. "The police officer’s hands will be tied. And we’ll have what you see in Chicago. I won’t be able to hold anybody in jail longer than 90 days if they demand trial and at the 90th day they get out no matter what crime they committed. And then they don’t show up for court. I can’t get a warrant. I have to get a bill to show cause. Well, ask your fellow officers here if they’re going to go in the inner city and try to serve a civil rent on someone charged with a triple homicide. It’s not going to happen. They’re not going to come back to court. It’s going to be literally the end of days and I’m working on a project to deal with it."

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy and Glasgow are in bi-partisan agreement over the bail reform law set to go into effect in 2023. Tracy has called the bill “absurd” and “ridiculous.” Glasgow is worried about the law’s effect on crime in the state. 

State Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Hillside), leader of the Black Caucus, was the main force behind the bill which passed the Senate by a vote of 32-23. If the bill goes into effect, it will make Illinois the only state where suspects are not held on cash bail.

"If you don’t think bond matters, it matters," Glasgow said. "It’s in the U.S. Constitution. It’s in the Illinois Constitution. There are Supreme Court cases that say it’s there to guarantee the appearance of the defendant. It just has to be reasonable. But I would argue to you, it’s unconstitutional to eliminate it." 

The SAFE-T Act passed in January 2021 and is set to go into effect in January 2023. Glasgow has said that releasing suspects because of the lack of bail will be harmful to victims. He argued that if there's a need to dismiss a case because of lack of proof, he will do it. Certain criteria must be proven in order to detain a suspect under the reasoning of being dangerous, The prosecutor must have significant proof that the person committed the crime. Also, the suspect must pose a specific threat to a specific person, and there cannot be any rules that would create a danger or hindrance to the offender. Prosecutors have said these requirements are too burdensome for their offices to effectively do their jobs. 

State Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago), has called criticisms of the bill “dog whistles” and “fear mongering,” according to WGEM. 

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown is continuing to advocate for keeping suspects charged with violent crimes in jail before the trial, WTTW reported. He also has expressed concerns about the state-wide elimination of cash bail. Brown has said that the police are arresting repeat offenders, but they are being let back out onto the street by the courts where they continue to commit crimes. Brown has said he is worried about the new bail bill and that the CPD has talked to lawmakers about amending the bill. This comes as crime rates in Chicago continue to skyrocket.