WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Ill. (WSIL) -- Opponents of the The SAFE-T Act are praising the Illinois Supreme Court after it halted the law hours before it went into effect.
On Saturday, the high courts decided to pause the Pretrial Fairness Act, which eliminates cash bail, over concerns that discretion on bail was being taken out of judges hands. Cash bail remains in effect throughout the state.
Williamson County State's Attorney Ted Hampson says it will now be up to the state's highest court to decide whether the act is unconstutitional.
"They hold all the cards," Hampson said.
The decision follows a Kankakee County Circuit Court that the cash bail provision in the act was unconstitutional.
At the center of the decision is a lawsuit filed by Kane and Dupage County state's attorneys with 65 counties signing on, including Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Massac, Pulaski, Saline, Union and White counties.
Hampson says the move avoids a further strain on a backlogged court system.
"It changes the flow of how the courtroom runs," Hampson said. "It allows a lot more people who could be threats or oppose threats because they don't have detainable offenses back out on the street."
State Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) called the decision 'a vindication' of the Republican Party's stance on the act for the last two years. Windhorst believes the court acted appropriately.
"Kankakee County court had agreed with that determination. We have over 60 states' attorneys who agree with that argument," Windhorst said. "We'll see if the state's supreme court agrees."
Supporters for eliminating cash bail criticized the court's decision. In a partial statement the the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice said:
"It is essential that the Supreme Court moves quickly to ensure the law's full implementation and prevent any more Illinoisans from being forced to pay a ransom to free their loved ones from jail while they await trial"
Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich applauded the court's move saying the act complicates a system he feels was not broken. Diederich says the act risks setting different rules for criminals in different counties.
"[Criminals] should be treated exactly the same in one county in Illinois as they are in another," Diederich said. "You create another unfair system there by trying to fix the system."
Hampson estimates the high courts could hear the Kankakee County case as early as March. Windhorst hopes the move can rekindle talks about criminal justice reform that Republicans, he says, were left out of.
Lawmakers return to Springfield Wednesday for the lame duck sessions. The 103rd General Assembly will be sworn in on January 11.
More coverage of the Safe-T Act:Â
- Lawmakers, police hold panel ahead of cash bail elimination Jan. 1
- New Illinois bill would increase the amount of people who could be held in jail pretrial after January
- Rep. Windhorst files resolution urging repeal of Criminal Justice Reform bill
- Gov. Pritzker, Sen. Bailey debate in first Illinois Gubernatorial debate