Lake County Gazette

The heavily debated SAFE-T Act is set to go into effect on January 1st. Since its inception, the SAFE-T Act has received pushback from law enforcement, police unions, and elected representatives mainly Republicans.

“While weak politicians like Mary Edly Allen are doing the SAFE T 'dance', our communities have grown more and more dangerous," said Adam Solano, a candidate for Illinois State Senate, District 31. "By pushing radical legislation like the SAFE-T Act, which does everything but make you safe, Mary Edly Allen is letting Chicago Democrats take the lead, emboldening criminals and threatening the safety of police officers and our families. As police departments struggle to hire and retain officers, these radical policies aim to make their jobs even harder. I call on Mary Edly Allen to stop forcing Lake County to suffer under the anti-police policies that have made Chicago so dangerous.”

As of Jan. 1, the following offenses will be considered "non-detainable" under the Safe-T Act: arson, burglary, aggravated battery, aggravated DUI, aggravated fleeing, drug-induced homicide, intimidation, kidnapping, robbery, threatening a public official, and second-degree murder. People who are charged with those crimes will be released without bail.   

 Illinois Gov. J.B. 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."            

 Supporters of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act, including the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, point to the legislation as a step towards making the justice system more equitable for minorities, Capitol News Illinois reported. Republicans have called the SAFE-T Act a “de facto defund the police bill" because of the additional regulations it places on police officers.                   

 One provision of the SAFE-T Act that took effect in January of this year allows criminal defendants who are awaiting trial on home confinement to move freely, without electronic monitoring, two days a week, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The defendants are supposed to use that time to look for employment, attend school, undergo treatment for drug addiction or mental illness, or grocery shop.  However, in the first three months of 2022, around two dozen people were arrested in Cook County during their "essential movement" days.  Democrat Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has called for an end to the "essential movement" provision, stating, “At a bare minimum, they should say, ‘If you’re charged with a violent offense, and you’re given home monitoring, you don’t get to wander around free for two days a week.'"                  

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.