Gov. Pritzker, Call A Special Session On SAFE-T Act. Voters Deserve To Know Before Election If Any Real Changes Will Be Made. – Wirepoints

By: Mark Glennon*

Crime is perhaps the top issue for Illinois voters this year and the extraordinarily divisive SAFE-T Act is central to it.

The 764-page bill makes many highly controversial changes to Illinois criminal law and procedure. With little or no debate, it was passed by the state Senate at 4 a.m. on the last day of a lame duck legislative session and passed by the state House less than 24 hours later.

Most contentious among its effects is the end of the cash bail system and changes to standards for pre-trial detention that would make it more difficult for prosecutors to detain arrested defendants. Supporters say that would reduce class and racial unfairness in the system while opponents claim dangerous criminals would walk free. Most of the new law will become effective on January 1.

The controversy has been blurred by the complexity of the bill as well as misunderstandings and exaggeration from both sides. Most voters are surely perplexed, and understandably so. We, too, have been delayed in trying to write a fair summary of the bill, though we think it’s clear, at a minimum, that certain major changes are essential.

Both sides now acknowledge that at least some changes are needed to the law. Gov. JB Pritzker has said that “changes and adjustments” to the law are needed. Bills that would amend the law are already pending in the General assembly, some sponsored by Democrats. Attorney General Kwame Raoul also acknowledged he has concerns about potential ambiguities in the law and spoke of the need to discuss clarifying some provisions.

The changes will be addressed after the election, we are told.

But will those changes be significant or mere “tweaks”?

And why should voters have to wait until after the election to find out?

“The Democrats are working every day with advocates, with law enforcement, to make sure that if there needs to be tweaks, we will tweak them before January,” said  Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago), a strong supporter of the law.

Tweaks, however, won’t satisfy critics. They include 100 of Illinois’ 102 county state’s attorneys who have petitioned in opposition to the law, at least five of which have sued to stop the law from going into effect. Darren Bailey, Pritzker’s opponent for governor, wants the law entirely repealed, as do many critics.

Pritzker can call a special session at any time. Illinoisans on both sides deserve to know where he and every member of the General Assembly stand on what they see as an exceptionally important piece of legislation — perhaps their most important issue in the election.

Pritzker with lawmakers at SAFE-T signing

Nobody can trust vague talk about “changes needed” after the election.

Call a special session, Gov. Pritzker. You and the General Assembly must tell Illinois where you stand, with deeds, not vague words.

*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.

23 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Dru Kimball
1 year ago

God I can’t wait to get the HELLO out of the socialist democratic republic of Illinois

Being Had
1 year ago

Before the election they should either make the changes needed so that the bill doesn’t compromise the public, or the General Assembly should veto the bill.

DAG
1 year ago

When people ask me about it I tell them to assume that there will not be any substantial changes. If they don’t want to clarify the changes then let their ambiguous jargon work against them. I don’t see any substantial changes being made because Pritzker and the other corrupt criminals must admit they made mistakes and that’s not going to happen.

Marie
1 year ago

There you go, typical Pelosi Democrat, you have to pass the bill BEFORE you can read it or make any changes. Pritzker keeps acting like Democrat Washington politicians. I keep making plans for a one way ticket out of Illinois.

ToughLove
1 year ago
Reply to  Marie

Marie, I hope you are serious about that one-way ticket. It is the only realistic option to escape the insanity. Speaking on behalf of those who already left, “You won’t regret it.”
Just make sure your new state is conservative/red and likely to stay that way.

Aaron
1 year ago
Reply to  Marie

It’s the best thing you can do for yourself and your family.

Last edited 1 year ago by Aaron
nixit
1 year ago

It took the extremism of Proft’s papers to get us to this point. Without it, this would have continued on in its current horrible state.

All the rational concerns raised by everyone else went unnoticed. It took Proft shouting from Florida and spamming everyone’s mailboxes with poor-quality papers – and all the publicity they garnered – to get JB to emerge from his bunker to address the glaring issues he knew existed all along.

Like him or lump him, this is a victory for Proft.

Last edited 1 year ago by nixit
SadStateofAffairs
1 year ago
Reply to  nixit

While some view Proft as “extreme”, I really think he provides the normal opposing view in a functioning democracy. There always needs to be an opposing view both left and right. The more tension the better the more checks and balances the better. We really don’t have an opposing view in Illinois. Hats off to Proft for initiating the conversation.

jajujon
1 year ago

Calling for a special session opens the governor to criticism right before the election. He signed this bill and, what?, we need to make changes before it’s implemented? What kind of trash did you sign, JB? Imagine all 100 of those state’s attorneys descending on Springfield to make their case. And all the finger pointing and exposing the GA’s 4:00am shenanigans. Nah, it’s a low profile strategy until after the election.

Honest Jerk
1 year ago

Wirepoints, you have done an admirable job documenting all the things wrong with Illinois. My only small criticism is that you expect too much from Illinois residents. So many are not capable of reading your charts/graphs and think at the level of a young child. Heck, I would wager that many don’t even read (or reason) above a 6th grade level, hence they simply don’t read. Add to this equation that a huge minority are dependent on government for employment, or some sort of financial aid/subsidies, and that they have a now inbred belief that Dems are caring, and the… Read more »

jajujon
1 year ago
Reply to  Honest Jerk

There are some very well educated, higher income folks who also are equally uninformed. Most all of these people are apathetic. They fail to vote or vote blindly, and the political class thrives on keeping those numbers as high as possible. Why? Because then special interest groups, activists and their supporters dominate the vote count, bad politicians stay in office and get rich, and this corrupt process continues to spin in their favor.

Our Constitution gives each of them the right to vote, but unfortunately it also gives them the right to be a moron with the right to vote.

Willowglen
1 year ago
Reply to  jajujon

Jajujon – I agree. I went to an excellent Lake County high school, easily one of the best in the state and the Midwest. When I talk to my high school friends about the perilous state of Illinois’ finances, these well off suburban women (mostly women for some reason) insist I am wrong. The middle of my class went to Iowa, Purdue, Wisconsin and Indiana – all excellent Big 10 schools. Many went to incredibly competitive schools. I knew of no one in my 740 plus class who did not go to college. Maybe 20-30 ended up not finishing in… Read more »

Buford Pusser Says
1 year ago

Victims of crimes have no rights, zero. Nobody cares about the suffering of innocents. SAFE T was conceived by a certain ethnic group of legislators and then passed by the sheep politicians of the democratic party who would not dare step out of line or face certain repercussions. It was passed for one reason and one reason alone, to address the so called racist justice system because a certain ethnic group is the cause of much/most of the violent crime plaguing cities. So the end result is nobody cares about the victim, it’s just about keeping the supposed innocent criminals… Read more »

David F
1 year ago

This was drafted by the black caucus I see nothing wrong with actually saying that.

debtsor
1 year ago
Reply to  David F

Yes. About 2/3rd of all inmates in jail and prison are black and brown people. The Black Caucus claims that mass incarceration has put too many black and brown people in jail/prison. EQUITY (the ‘E’ in SAFE-T) means incarcerating fewer black and brown people. There are only TWO ways to incarcerate fewer black and brown people: Option #1 is to spread magic fairy dust all over the land hoping that a sizable number of criminals of all races stop their recidivist criminal behaviors. AKA stop committing crimes. Fewer crimes by everyone mean fewer everyone of all races in jail. Option… Read more »

Last edited 1 year ago by debtsor
Honest Jerk
1 year ago
Reply to  debtsor

Option #3: Whites need to step up and commit more crimes so the prison population is more equitable.

ProzacPlease
1 year ago
Reply to  Honest Jerk

Option #3A: If whites do not commit crimes in sufficient numbers to achieve equity, declare parents protesting at school board meeting to be “domestic terrorists”. Declare “white supremacy extremists” to be the greatest domestic threat. Arrest protestors as “insurrectionists”. Releasing criminals was too obvious in the result of escalating violent crime. So now equity needs to be achieved by incarcerating more whites. Whether they have actually committed a crime is irrelevant.

Last edited 1 year ago by ProzacPlease
Ex Illini
1 year ago

It’s bad enough that we currently have brazen and violent criminals out in society with no fear of being held accountable, but Pritzker wanted to double down on his social justice war on law abiding citizens. The fact that the egomaniac is even willing to consider modifications demonstrates that there is concern among his inner circle. That concern isn’t that they made a mistake, but that they may get tossed out of power before they accomplish their mission. Vote every Democrat out of office before it is too late.

SIGN UP HERE FOR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER

Home Page Signup
First
Last
Check all you would like to receive:

FOLLOW US

 

WIREPOINTS ORIGINAL STORIES

A statewide concern: Illinois’ population decline outpaces neighboring states – Wirepoints on ABC20 Champaign

“We are not in good shape” Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski told ABC 20 Champaign during a segment on Illinois’ latest population losses. Illinois was one of just three states to shrink in the 2010-2020 period and has lost another 300,000 people since then. Ted says things need to change. “It’s too expensive to live here, there aren’t enough good jobs and nobody trusts the government anymore. There’s just other places to go where you can be more satisfied.”

Read More »

WE’RE A NONPROFIT AND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS ARE DEDUCTIBLE.

SEARCH ALL HISTORY

CONTACT / TERMS OF USE