Some felons in Illinois will start the new year with a “get out of jail free’ card, courtesy of the Democrats’ elimination of cash bail that goes into effect January 1st, State Representative Chris Miller said. Under the measure, passed last year as part of the controversial Safe-T Act, many offenders, including some facing serious felony charges, will be released back into the community within hours of their arrest.
“Chicago Democrats have created a revolving door for criminals in all of our communities,” Rep. Miller (R-Robinson) said.
Just over a year ago, in February of 2021, Governor Pritzker signed the quickly drafted and un-vetted Safe-T Act into law. The original legislation was two bills combined into one 700-page measure with conflicting language passed in the final hours of the January 2021 “Lame Duck” session. It places hundreds of new regulations and rules on law enforcement that make it even harder for them to do their job. Measures just going into effect January 1, 2023 also make it harder to keep violent offenders off our streets by eliminating cash bail.
“Democrats have written three trailer bills for the Safe-T Act…that’s four attempts and they still haven’t gotten it right. Even though 62 Illinois States Attorneys have sued the State of Illinois to stop the unconstitutional end of cash bail, Democrats kept the abolition of cash bail in their bill. We need to repeal the disastrous Safe-T Act in its entirety and support our law enforcement community and all first responders that put their lives on the line every day to protect us,” Rep. Miller said.