Will County Gazette

The SAFE-T Act continues to be a hot topic for Illinois politicians, law enforcement and citizens. The criminal justice reform bill signed into law back in January of 2021 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker has received major pushback from law enforcement, state’s attorneys and state representatives.

It was written with the intent of promoting equitable due process among other things during the course of Illinois’ criminal justice process. But opponents argue that it restricts the tools necessary for law enforcement to properly do their jobs and the requirements stipulated, such as body cameras, may cause significant financial strain for many police departments.

Will and Kankakee state’s attorneys filed lawsuits on Friday, Sept. 16 with complaints listed that the SAFE-T Act violates sections of the Illinois Constitution.

District 40 Illinois State Senate candidate Phil Nagel has joined the chorus of critics.

“Thanks to Radical Democrats like Patrick Joyce, thousands of dangerous criminals are about to be released onto our streets," Nagel said. "The SAFE-T Act allows criminals to walk free before a trial can be held, regardless of their known danger to the community. Prosecutors will soon be forced to let criminals responsible for armed robberies, drug trafficking and homicides off easy – even Democrat state’s attorneys are now sounding the alarm. I demand that every state’s attorneys in Illinois join the legal fight against this radical, dangerous law so that we can protect  our families from these violent criminals.”

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow (D) filed a lawsuit against the State of Illinois naming Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Speaker of the House Emanuel Welch and Donald Harmon as defendants, his office said in a news release. The complaint lists that the SAFE-T Act violates numerous sections of the Illinois Constitution, including: Bills “shall be confined to one subject” and “[a] bill shall be read by title on three different days in each House.”

“It is my sworn duty as Will County’s state’s attorney to protect the people of Will County and the State of Illinois," Glasgow said in the news release. "To put it in plain and simple terms, this is not about politics; it is about public safety.”

Kankakee State’s Attorney Jim Rowe (D) filed a civil lawsuit as well naming Pritzker and Raoul as defendants asking that the SAFE-T Act be declared unconstitutional, the Kankakee Daily Journal reported.

The Daily Journal reported that Pritzker provided it with a statement that called the lawsuit "a weak attempt to protect the status quo" allowing violent criminals to buy their freedom.

Not only state’s attorneys took action last week against the SAFE-T Act. Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana weighed in when he uploaded a video to YouTube on Sept. 16 explaining how the current criminal justice system works and what changes on Jan. 1 when the SAFE-T Act goes into effect.

“Currently, our judges use an evidence-based process to determine if the alleged criminal defendant should be let out or should they be incarcerated during this time or before going to court. This [current] system works. It’s not putting the community at risk. It's incarcerating the people that need to be incarcerated using metrics and tools that the judges use. [Under the SAFE-T Act]…There's a certain subsets of crimes that we're going to have to let out.”

The subset of crimes Caruana referred to in his statement are: Aggravated battery, robbery, burglary, hate crimes, aggravated DUI, vehicular manslaughter, drug-induced homicide, drug  offenses including trafficking and delivery of fentanyl, intimidation, kidnapping, second-degree murder, aggravated fleeing and threatening a public official.

Caruana concluded his video stating that the SAFE-T Act "is a failure." The sheriff expressed that he has tried to speak with the "authors of this bill" but "they are persisting to make this [allowing the SAFE-T Act to take full effect] happen" on Jan. 1.

Pritzker recently defended the elimination of cash bail, according to The Center Square. 

"We do not want someone in jail because they were arrested for a low-level crime like shoplifting to be sitting in jail for months or maybe even years," Pritzker said. "At the same time, someone who is a wealthy drug dealer, perhaps accused of murder and arrested, can show up with a suitcase full of money and get out of jail."              

SafeWise's annual 2022 State of Safety survey found that only 42% of Illinois residents report feeling safe, while 64% reported feeling "high daily concern" for their safety. Thirteen percent of respondents reported experiencing gun violence firsthand, an increase from 8% the previous year. Mass shooting incidents in Illinois increased by 25% from 2020 to 2021.           

Nagel is a veteran, former EMT/Fireman and currently works as a migration specialist for a worldwide company. He is a lifelong resident of Will County striving to preserve an Illinois where the constitutional rights of citizens are respected and upheld.