Dennis Tipsword, State Representative for Illinois’ 105th District and Chief Deputy of the Woodford County Sheriff’s Office, said he supports the House GOP’s SAFE-T Act reforms to restore judicial discretion and expand pretrial detention for high-risk defendants.
“This horrible law has made all of us less safe in this state as we continue to see dangerous criminals released back into our communities over and over thus making more innocent citizens victims of crimes that should have never been committed if these people were just detained pre-trial,” said Tipsword, Illinois State Representative for 105th District. “The felonies of grooming, sexual exploitation of a child, traveling to meet a minor for sex, etc. have been deemed by the Democrats as non-detainable dangerous crimes. In all of these cases they are released back on our streets with “conditions” to “mitigate” them from reoffending. When people had their own money (bail/bond) on the line they were much more apt to come back for court. Now under this system, there is no bond so when a person fails to show for court they are out nothing. A new court date is sent in the mail to them and in most cases they don’t show again. We are seeing experienced criminals who have lived their lives playing the system who are now learning the nuances of this law as written and taking full advantage of being on the run with no accountability.”
According to Illinois House Republicans, they have filed a package to tighten the SAFE-T Act by broadening detainable offenses and clarifying when prosecutors can seek detention. They argue that current limits allow too many high-risk defendants to be released on conditions that do not prevent reoffending. This initiative follows months of controversy over post-bail-reform outcomes, which have intensified calls to revisit the law this session.
A case in Jacksonville highlighted how narrow detainability can result in offenders cycling through arrests without intervention. A homeless woman was arrested seven times in 16 hours for Class B misdemeanors; under the SAFE-T Act, such low-level charges are generally non-detainable, leaving judges unable to hold repeat offenders even briefly to connect them with services. Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll urged targeted fixes to restore limited discretion.
Under Illinois’ SAFE-T Act, when a defendant on pretrial release misses a court date, the court is required to issue a summons with a new date—not a warrant—unless the judge finds pretrial release is no longer possible. Only after a second miss or a revocation finding may a warrant be issued. In practice, an initial failure to appear carries no immediate arrest or bond-forfeiture consequence, which is a key criticism of the law.
Peoria County Sheriff Chris Watkins urged Governor Pritzker to revisit cashless bail, citing local data since SAFE-T took effect: total jail bookings for 11 nonviolent offense categories plus domestic battery rose by nearly 28% from 2022 to 2025, and failures to appear increased by 339 cases (about 16%). Watkins said limits on detention and weak return-to-court incentives are straining public safety.
Tipsword is a veteran with over 30 years in law enforcement and serves as Chief Deputy of the Woodford County Sheriff’s Office. Elected to the Illinois House in 2022, he represents the 105th District while continuing his service in uniform. His official biography lists training at Western Illinois University, the University of Illinois Police Training Institute, and Northwestern’s School of Police Staff and Command.
