Peoria Standard

State Rep. Keith P. Sommer (R-Morton) views House Bill 3653 as a complete disservice to Illinois residents.

“The Safety Accountability, Fairness & Equity Today Act (SAFE-T) was purported to keep Illinois families safer,” Sommer said in a post to his website. “But, that has not been the outcome for those who are already battling violence in their neighborhoods.”

Republican lawmakers have been quick to point out since the bill took effect, violent crime has steadily climbed across Chicago, including murders, expressway shootings, carjackings, assaults, armed robberies, smash and grabs and mob retail theft.

Crime is up by 7.5 percent in Chicago, according to Caucus Blog, with many of the neighborhoods most impacted by the surging numbers being the same ones that have long been forced to suffer  out-of-control violence.

“In the seven most-violent police districts in the city, the rate was 25 times higher than the rest of the city — nearly 100 murders per 100,000 residents, a recent Chicago Sun-Times report detailed. “That’s the largest such gap between the safest and least-safe areas in the 60 years of data tracked by the Crime Lab.”

State Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Harrisburg) has filed House Resolution 598, which seeks to repeal SAFE-T.

“We’re now a year out from the passage of the excessively flawed SAFE-T Act and crime is up, our friends and neighbors are less safe and our law enforcement officers’ job is harder than it has ever been,” Windhorst said at a Jan. 20 news conference. “Ending cash bail for violent offenders, allowing detained subjects to make unmonitored phone calls, prohibiting arrest for certain criminal offenses and allowing unlimited anonymous complaints against police officers is the wrong path for criminal justice and public safety.”

The SAFE-T Act's passage has also been followed by a record number of officers resigning, with more than half of the state’s 102 counties now having a vacancy in the sheriff's office.

Windhorst has urged Democrats join him on the repeal.

“I welcome any House Democrat who voted for the original law and now recognizes the error they made to join us,” he said. “Let's make Illinois a safer place to live, work and raise a family once again. Sign on as a sponsor to the repeal the SAFE-T Act.”