SPRINGFIELD (WREX) � With only one day left for lawmakers to pass legislation before the new year, a trailer bill has hit the senate floor for the controversial SAFE-T Act.
Background:
The SAFE-T Act was signed back in January of 2021 and proposed sweeping criminal justice changes which included ending cash bail.
The Pretrial Fairness Act which is part of the SAFE-T Act starts this coming January, and picked up a lot of attention from opponents of the law who believed the law would make the state less safe.
Earlier this summer, Boone County Sheriff David Ernest and 17th Circuit District Chief Judge John Lowry told 13 Investigates they had concerns about the upcoming law with Ernest claiming half his jail population would leave after the January 1 cutoff.
In the months leading up to the election dozens of state's attorneys filed suit against Governor JB Pritzker and the state saying the SAFE-T Act was unconstitutional.
Breaking Down the Bill:
With a month before the Pretrial Fairness piece of the SAFE-T Act starts, lawmakers are trying to fix the issues raised about the law.
68th District Representative Dave Vella, who represents parts of Rockford, Belivdere and other areas of the Stateline, says he and a handful of other lawmakers worked with law enforcement, state's attorneys, criminal reform advocates and more to find middle ground for a trailer bill.
That trailer bill went to the senate floor on Wednesday with three major changes which Vella wanted to point out:
- Implementation Time: To address fears of overwhelming courts and large shifts of prison population, the trailer bill gives courts 90 days after the first of the year to reevaluate everyone who should be jailed and people who should be released pretrial.
- Dangerousness Standard Language: Opponents of the Pretrial Fairness Act raised concerns over the standard of pertinent danger when it came to whether someone would be released pretrial. When a case comes to the court, two factors determine the amount of bond set: the chance of a person running away, and if they pose a threat to the community. In the original language of the Pretrial Fairness Act, some believed that the wording would force prosecutors to prove that a person causes a threat to a specific, named person to jail them before their trial. The trailer bill clarifies the language to say 'person/persons/or the community' to widen the scope.
- What Crimes Demand Pretrial Jailing: Opponents of the Pretrial Fairness Act had issues with what crimes might not require people to be held in jail before pretrial release with the most commonly used being second-degree murder. Vella says the trailer bill responds to this by adding language which requires a person to be held in jail before their trial if they're charged with a crime that wouldn't allow probation if the person was convicted.
What's Next?
Time is ticking for this bill to get to the finish line. The senate needs to pass the trailer bill, then head to the house for passage before Thursday's session ends. The bigger question is whether or not lawmakers try to amend this trailer bill, which could take too much time to pass by the end of Thursday.
Even if the amendment passes, there's still the matter of the lawsuits from state's attorneys. That case starts on Wednesday, December 7 in Kankakee with a decision expected by December 15.
