Lake County Gazette

Adam Solano, a Republican candidate for Illinois State Senate District 31, is criticizing the Illinois SAFE-T Act.

“Thanks to Radical Democrats like Mary Edly-Allen, thousands of dangerous criminals are about to be released onto our streets," Solano said. "The SAFE-T Act, supported by Mary Edly-Allen allows criminals to walk free before a trial can be held, regardless of their known danger to the community. Prosecutors will soon be forced to let criminals responsible for armed robberies, drug trafficking and homicides off easy – even Democrat state’s attorneys are now sounding the alarm. I demand that Lake County state’s attorneys join the legal fight against this radical, dangerous law so that we can protect our families from these violent criminals.”

On Sept. 16, Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow (D) filed a lawsuit against the state of Illinois naming Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Speaker of the House Emanuel Welch and Donald Harmon as defendants, Glasgow's office said in a news release.

The complaint lists that the SAFE-T Act violates numerous sections of the Illinois Constitution, including: Bills “shall be confined to one subject” and “[a] bill shall be read by title on three different days in each house.”

“It is my sworn duty as Will County’s state’s attorney to protect the people of Will County and the State of Illinois. To put it in plain and simple terms, this is not about politics; it is about public safety,” Glasgow said in the news release.

Kankakee State’s Attorney Jim Rowe, a Democrat, filed a civil lawsuit as well, naming Pritzker and Raoul as defendants asking that the SAFE-T Act be declared unconstitutional, the Kankakee Daily Journal reported.

The Daily Journal reported that Pritzker provided them with a statement that called the lawsuit "a weak attempt to protect the status quo" allowing violent criminals to buy their freedom.

Not only state’s attorneys took action last week against the SAFE-T Act. Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana weighed in when he uploaded a video to YouTube on Sept. 16 explaining how the current criminal justice system works and what changes on Jan. 1 when the SAFE-T Act goes into effect.

“Currently, our judges use an evidence-based process to determine if the alleged criminal defendant should be let out or should they be incarcerated during this time or before going to court. This [current] system works. It’s not putting the community at risk. It's incarcerating the people that need to be incarcerated using metrics and tools that the judges use. [Under the SAFE-T Act]…there's a certain subsets of crimes that we're going to have to let out,” Caruana said.

The subset of crimes Caruana referred to in his statement are: Aggravated battery, robbery, burglary, hate crimes, aggravated DUI, vehicular manslaughter, drug-induced homicide, drug  offenses including trafficking and delivery of fentanyl, intimidation, kidnapping, second-degree murder, aggravated fleeing and threatening a public official.

Caruana concluded his video stating that the SAFE-T Act "is a failure." The sheriff expressed that he has tried to speak with the "authors of this bill" but "they are persisting to make this [allowing the SAFE-T Act to take full effect] happen" on Jan. 1.

Pritzker also 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."

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.

Solano is a native to Lake County and has lived in Grayslake since 1996. He began his career in financial services in 1993 and has continuously served in local professional groups, providing his  knowledge to peers in the same profession and mentoring up and comers.