Lake County Gazette

In a Sept. 18 Facebook post, Mary Cole, a candidate for Lake County State’s Attorney, discussed the implementation of cashless bail and what it meant. She pointed Facebook followers to a longer news release on the topic. According to Cole, the implementation of the SAFE-T Act in Illinois, which she refers to as the "Catch and Release Act," will make everyone in Lake County less safe. She believes that law enforcement will be less able to detain accused criminals except in the most violent cases, leading to an increase in crime in the area.

On her campaign website, Cole further explained her concerns about the SAFE-T Act in a Q&A style news release. She expressed that the law would limit the power of judges to keep individuals charged with crimes in jail. Under the new legislation, a person accused of committing a crime can only be detained if the state's attorney requests it, except for very serious crimes. Cole argues that this law becomes particularly dangerous when the county state's attorney is soft on crime, as there are no longer checks and balances in place for release decisions. She believes that this will result in dozens of people at risk of committing additional crimes being released into neighborhoods, exacerbating the already rising crime rates in Lake County.

In July, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the pretrial fairness section of the SAFE-T Act in a 5-2 ruling, which stated that it would go into effect on Sept. 18, 2023. This section of the act requires a rigorous review of cases where individuals are accused of serious crimes before they are kept behind bars pending trial. Lake County District Attorney Eric Rinehart stated that his office will file petitions to detain offenders arrested after the cashless bail provision goes into effect. Judges will have the final say on whether someone is detained or not detained awaiting trial. If a judge rules for detention, individuals arrested after the effective date will no longer be able to access cash to gain release.

Mary Cole, candidate for Lake County State's Attorney | maryforlakecounty.com

Mary Cole announced her run for the State’s Attorney position in Lake County in August. According to the Daily Herald, she is a lawyer with a firm based in Gurnee and has experience in the DeKalb County public defender’s office, the Williamson County state’s attorney’s office, and two years as a Lake County assistant state’s attorney.